Wolf in Hero's Clothing
by Tactical-Timeout
Summary: Nick Wilde and Judy Hopps are living as normal after the Nighthowler incident until an evil scientist begins turning the tables on technology, hiding in the shadows. Their friend and fellow officer Alex, along side Nick and Judy, struggle to keep not only their sanity, but their lives as they persist against the challenges that fall before them.
1. Chapter 1 - Gold Mine

**Author's note**

 **Before I start, I want to say this is my very first time posting something I wrote online. Feel free to tell me your thoughts, opinions, and advice. I finished up this chapter after posting a much shorter version of it. This story revolves around Nick and Judy's lives, and their work at the ZPD, and things take a dark and unexpected turn. I won't spoil anything else for you awesome readers out there.**

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 **Nick's POV**

I was half awake as the buzzing of my phone blared into my ears. I grabbed the air next to my pillow for my phone. As I searched, I felt it on the tip of my claw. The phone fell to the floor, making me sigh. Once I was on my feet, I turned off my alarm and set my phone on my dresser. I quickly got a shower, making sure to wash around my eyes, as I went to sleep late last night. I put on my police uniform, grabbed my phone, grabbed my keys, and then went for breakfast. As I ate my cereal, I got a text. It was from Judy, asking me to hurry up, and that she was waiting for me outside. I dropped my keys as I rushed out the door, not wanting to be late for the second time this week.

"Aww, does Nick needs his beauty sleep?" Judy laughed as I jumped into her car. I cracked a smile, but it would take more than that to make me set my alarm back.

"As a matter of fact I do, Carrots. The truth is, without it I wouldn't look half as good as I do." I stated professionally, placing my paw on my chest, holding my chin high. I held the pose for a second longer before Judy and I started laughing.

"You better start going to sleep earlier then because it's clearly not working." She shot back. My eyes actually widened a bit at that, not expecting such a heavy hit. She noticed my surprised face. "Got anything left in yah?" She asked, pity in her voice. I cocked my head towards her, my smile returning.

"I didn't get my beauty sleep last night." Was all I said. It wasn't my best, but getting a good amount of sleep helps me sound so charming yet so idiotic. Judy slammed on the brakes causing me to fall forward. I barely caught myself before hitting the dashboard, as I was busy on my phone.

"That should wake you up then." She said calmly. I held my smiling and sighed, rolling my eyes. Every morning was like this, and it was great. Just the two of us. We didn't talk as much the rest of the ride, as I was on my phone and she was just listening to the radio. I didn't pay attention to what exactly. After a good ten minutes, we arrived at the Zootopia Police Department.

"Good morning Nick! Good morning Judy!" Ben Clawhauser said while we walked in. Nice guy he was, even if he was a little awkward from time to time. I didn't mind though.

"Same to you Ben." Judy said looking up to him as we passed. I simply shot him a smile. Judy and I arrived for roll call as usual, and Bogo assigned jobs. We don't do this everyday. This is because some assignments can take more than one day to complete, and if you're early, just talk to Chief Bogo. It's Monday however, so we start fresh.

"Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, you two will be responsible for investigating a domestic violence case, nothing big." Bogo said before moving onto the next assignment. Nothing big, Good enough for me, I don't mind these small simple cases, they are usually boring for sure, but when we finish, we sometimes get to leave early, or take on a more interesting case.

"Another domestic violence case, sounds exciting!" I chuckled as we left the room. Judy said goodbye to Clawhauser as we left for the parking lot.

"It's not that boring. Okay just a little." Judy responded once we got to our squad car. We got inside, and she drove us out onto the street, looking at the address she was given.

"Carrots, you know just how boring they are, but look on the bright side, if we finish early, maybe Bogo will spare us with something like a robbery." I said, looking at my phone for further entertainment. She kept silent as we drove around the city, before entering the Rainforest district. Judy had trouble finding the address right away, and we ended up going in a circle twice, but we finaly found ourselves in front of a small, discreet house off the main roads.

"Would you do the honors?" Judy asked me. I brought my paw up to the door, giving it a soft rattle. We waited for about ten seconds before Judy knocked, slow but loud, against the old wooden door. I sighed as another few moments passed with no answer.

"Come on Carrots, we can come back later, let's go get a bite to eat or something." I said before spinning around to walk to our car.

"Nick the faster we get this over with the faster we can move on to something else." She said, almost begging for someone to end her misery. I dropped my shoulders, pressing my lips together. Just as I was about to drag her to the car, the door opened, creaking the whole way, which was only a couple inches. Before Judy could peep through the door to get a better look it swung all the way open, revealing a black panther, small and frail.

"Aww, aren't you the bunny officer that stopped the nighthauler thing?" She said softly. I mentally rolled my eyes, not wanting Judy to hit me for being rude.

"You mean Nighthowlers? Yes, that's me, Judy Hopps, can I get your name?" Judy nervously said. I could tell how much she wanted to change the topic.

"My name is Helen, I believe you were sent here because of my call earlier today?" The panther spoke. At least she didn't continue on with the Nighthowlers, because I'm pretty sure Judy would have died of embarrasment. Don't get me wrong she deserves the credit, but after the obvious mistake she made with it all, I don't think she would want any.

"Yes we were, and not to be pushy, Helen, but what took so long to answer the door? It was like thirty seconds." I jumped in. It only took a second for Judy to punch my shoulder.

"Nick! Don't be rude, she probably didn't hear us." Judy spat at me with a piercing whisper. I couldn't help but smile, mostly due to Judy's knock being obnoxiously loud.

"No officer Hopps, your friend here is right. I took so long because I didn't want to answer it. I know that I made the call, but I was rather nervous. However, then I heard the young and dear voice of yours. I couldn't help but want to meet you!" Helen said with a warming smile. Heh, serves Carrots right.

"Right..." Judy said, dragging on for an entire three seconds, "So onto that call of yours, who exactly is the perpetrator?" Perpetrator. Based on what I've seen so far, someone barely touched her.

"My husband, but he left about thirty minutes ago, right after I called the department, but he should be back here by lunch, which is in about two hours, atleast I hope he will." Helen said, still smiling.

"What exactly did he do to you? You haven't gave us the slightest details yet." I said frankly. Maybe Judy would punch me again for being 'Rude'. Luckily she kept still, seeing that Helen didn't find me as such.

"Well he pushed me, and called me a few names before leaving, nothing too bad. I'm not injured or anything, just wanted to stay safe." She responded. I exhaled deeply, but not loud enough for her or Judy to notice. Calls like these are what keep us cops away from the real trouble.

"Well that's okay ma'am, but me and my friend have quite a busy schedule, and we think it'd be best if you just would give us a call when he returns." Judy said, holding her head high. Who am I kidding, she had to keep her head high this whole time, since both me and Helen are taller than her. I said my goodbyes as well, giving a joking salute to Helen before leaving. Judy and I hopped back into the squad car and drove back towards the main road.

"We could tell Bogo that we finished up here, and perhaps we could strike gold." I laughed, throwing my feet up on the dashboard. Carrots swatted at my feet, and I sighed before taking them down.

"We are not lying to Bogo to get a more interesting case, we have to take our job seriously Nick." She said, scowling at me.

"Oh please Carrots, I'm sure Bogo would agree that what we just heard back there was a waste of time. We could have been working on something important, hell, I would have rather just did paperwork at my desk." I sighed, rolling my eyes. I could tell Judy wanted to punch my shoulder again, but she was driving on the main road into central Zootopia, and it would be an understatement to say it's busy. Judy managed not to respond to my criticism of Bogo's assignment for us, probably because she knew I was right. Once we got back to the ZPD, Ben greeted us again.

"Back already! That was less than an hour!" Ben said in a friendly tone. If Bogo was the one saying that, Judy probably wouldn't have reacted as positive as she did.

"Yup! You know how fast Nick and I work!" She gave Ben a wave and we continued to Bogo's office. Judy will probably tell him exactly what I wanted her to say in the car.

"Come in!" Bogo said simply, before Carrots and I slide through the door. We both took a seat in front of his desk. Bogo looked both angry and surprised, "Back already? Please enlighten me Hopps." He shot at us.

"It was an open shut case, there was almost no problem at all, Helen, the lady who called, told us she just wanted to play it safe." I mentally patted myself on the shoulder as Judy did exactly what I wanted. Without Bogo realizing, she shot an evil glare at me, letting me know not to push her about it.

"Alright, well I guess you two deserve a little treat then." Bogo put on his glasses and turned to his computer. His eyes widened before he turned backa to us. "Just a moment ago we got a call about a robbery, I think you two can handle it, after all, Nick, I know how boring you think these domestic violence calls are." He finished. Like I said, Judy and I just struck gold. When officers take on robbery, murder, or any cases like those, everyone wants to at least ask one question about it. Judy and I got up from our seats and left his office after he gave us the remaining details.

Judy and I were quite on our way to get extra equipment for our gold mine. As we packed, multiple of our co-workers asked us what we were in for. One that stands out is Alex, a slender, but athletic wolf who I talk to often when I get bored of doing paperwork. I even went on a few rides with him, nothing spectacular, just some minor calls.

"Is that a vest I see? Nick, are you sure you can handle this?" Alex smirked. I knew he was refering to the vest and not the robbery itself. He also likes to joke around, similarly to how Judy and I do.

"Don't worry, I've had special training for this piece of equipment. Certified Kevlar officer, Nick Wilde." I said, my sarcastic ego shooting through the roof. Alex then patted me on the shoulder.

"Good luck, and whatever you do, be careful." He said slowly, being much more serious than before. I nodded my head and he strolled away.

"I'm surprised you guys don't hang out more often," Judy got my attention, "He seems like the guy that's there when you need him, but is also witty and fun to be around, similar to yourself." She pondered. I understood what she meant, Alex was a great guy, but I just don't seem to have the time for other friends, as Judy took up quite a lot of that time.

"Maybe I'll find the time someday, let's focus on our mission, Judy." I redirected the conversation. I don't usually call her Judy unless I am serious and focused. We finished getting our appropriate gear ready, such as tranquilizers, Kevlar vest, and a few other small gadgets. Judy and I ran out to the parking lot, realizing we already were taking to long to get going. Ben didn't even get a goodbye from Judy, which is a rare occurrence. I threw myself into the squad car as Judy started the engine. She really wanted to make us for lost time, since a screech escaped the car as we drove off. Judy turned on the siren, and slid right through all traffic in our way. "Hey Carrots, I just want to let you know, robbery is a pretty big deal, especially at a mall." I told her. I probably should have worded it differently, because she may take it the wrong way.

"You think I can't handle a robbery? Nick, you know I scored top of my class during training." She responded, not daring to even looking at me with how fast she was driving. I knew she would take it as an insult rather than a precaution. Classic Carrots. She swerved into the parking lot of the Central Zootopia Mall, making me grab the door for safety. Once we parked, she hopped out of the car, no pun intended. I followed behind her as we jogged towards the mall's front entrance. Two officers to stop a mall robbery, I guess Chief Bogo really did trust us. Judy and I were across from each other, the two sets of doors between us. I peeped inside, darkness. The mall appeared to be closed, but then who would have reported this? There was no alarm going off.

"Nick, on three, you take the right door, I'll take left." She commanded. I nodded my head, awaiting her countdown. "One..." She started, I could see her fingers readjusting around her tranquilizer, "Two..." I sensed how nervous she was, and she had every right to be. I was right there with her anyways. "Three!" She declared before the two of us bolted through the doors, which were unlocked for some reason. I think Bogo chose us specifically for this because we were the two smallest officers, light on our feet, and harder to hit. I had to put my mind in the right place, because although I always act confident and charming, I can be just as nervous as Judy. Once inside, we walked slowly, keeping our entire upper bodies completely still, tranquilizers raised. The ZPD doesn't give us lethal guns for the vast majority of the work we do, this is because it isn't necessary when we can knock them out instantly, almost like simulating death, but for only a period of time. We didn't know exactly where to look in the mall, so Judy and I walked on opposing sides of the large corridor. We continued like this until we searched everywhere, except for entering each individual store and diner of course. We were beginning to theorize that the thieves had already left, and we were wasting our time.

"Hey Judy, I think we hit a dead end here. I think we should report back to Bogo." I told her quietly from across a set of benches and plants. Judy walked around the benches, about to respond. Then a ringing tore through my eardrums. I felt light-headed, my mind void of any thought. I looked down and saw my fur damp with blood. As the ringing faded, all I could hear was Judy screaming as I fell backwards, my vision blurring. _We didn't strike gold._

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 **Author's Note**

 **Yes that took quite a dark turn. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter, I wrote a storyboard, ideas, concept and everything, and was even a bit scared of writing a fanfic, something I have never done before. Please leave a review about what you think, if I should improve on anything, and if I represented the characters well, and I'll hopefully get chapter two out before long.**

 **...**

 **Oh yeah I almost forgot, I need a "Catchy" little saying that I use at the end of each author's note. Shit, I don't know. Anyways, since I wrote this while on break, I have the time to write chapters much quicker, so if I post three in the next four days, try not to get used to it.**

 **...**

 **Some extra words, not to get the word count to three thousand in total or anything to that sort, don't mind me here. Stalling? I'm not stalling anything. Yes you are. No I'm not. *Points finger at me* You are... you are doing it right now. I'm stalling? Yes! Stalling? STALLING! You think I'm stalling? EEHHH WHAT AM I IN CRAZY TOWN?! I HAVE HAD ENOUGH OF THIS NONSENSE!**


	2. Chapter 2 - Distractions

**Author's Note**

 **Me, being new to writing these kind of things, I'm unsure, and would like to have a better idea of the ratings system, this chapter contains a decent amount of blood, and I'm on the fence about changing the rating to M just to be safe. What do you guys think?**

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 **Nick's POV**

I felt pain throughout my whole body. The first thing I sensed was touch, my hand was under pressure, not in a bad way of course, more of a caring way. I was able to slowly lift my heavy eyelids, adjusting to the rather bright light. I couldn't really lift my head, but I saw a bunny. Judy to be more specific, holding my paw. Her head rested on the bed near my legs, face down. The beeping noise coming from my side laid out clearly where I was. I felt my body realize I was awake, and I felt my motions returning. I could move my head just a little, but found it no use since I was rested on a pillow anyways. I squeezed Judy's hand lightly. Causing her to gasp softly. The mere three seconds of her staring at me felt like an eternity. She looked so happy and relieved, yet so upset and scared. She then went to hug me, but stopped herself halfway, processing that it would probably hurt me. Instead she just squeezed my paw back.

"Good to see you're awake." I heard faintly, Judy's mouth sealed. I did my best to look around the whole room, and as I searched my left, I saw a wolf, covered in white fur, Alex. I was sort of surprised he showed up, considering I don't hang out with him outside of work.

"I thought it would be nice," Judy sniffed, "To have more than one person here for you." She concluded. I was doing my best to not tear up, but it wasn't easy. Alex slowly got out of his chair and left the room. Judy just continued to stare at me, a half-smile on her face. Alex returned shortly, with a doctor right behind him. I'll try to spare you the pain of all the details, but basically the doctor said it was good that I was awake, but I would be stuck here for awhile.

"How long exactly do you think he will be here?" Alex asked. Good question, I'd love to know, but talking wasn't really on my schedule at the moment, but Alex seems to have my mindset down.

"Well judging from what we recorded of his injuries, I would say give him at least five days, then we will see how he is doing. Since not everyone heals at the same speed, he could be here long past then, but stay optimistic about this one, he has miraculously dodged the possibility of death, even with odds being strongly against him." The doctor laid down, causing Judy to sigh. I would have reacted to this news, but I was too busy looking back at Judy, wondering what she was thinking.

 **Judy's POV**

I walked around the bench towards Nick, about to tell him that we don't go back empty handed. Then a sharp pain shot through my ears. Gunshots. Time seemed to slow as I saw blood staining Nick's fur about his body. I screamed as Nick fell backwards, processing what just happened seemed to take forever, but in just one second I was already behind the concrete flowerbed next to me. I held my tranquilizer tight, so tight my hands were hurting. Quicker than I have ever moved before, I jumped up and aimed in every possible angle that Nick could have been shot from. Nothing. I fell back against the short concrete barrier, pulling my tranquilizer against my chest. I started breathing heavier, as if I wasn't enough already, and my heart was pounding quicker than ever.

I didn't want to peek around the corner. My best friend, lying there in a his own blood would await me. I sat still for what seemed like forever, until my gut told me to do something. I lost my mind after what had happened, I couldn't focus at all. I checked my watch, almost two minutes have passed. I kept trying to snap myself back to reality, then a thought occurred. Nick could be alive, and he could need medical assistance. Not a moment later I jumped out once again from the wall and took sight of everything around me. Nothing out of order except for Nick. I dashed over to him and placed my ear against his chest, his heartbeat gave me hope. I wrapped my arms around him and tried to pick him up, but failed. My body was still shaking, and I felt weaker than ever. I placed one arm under Nick's, same with the other, and dragged him across the cold, slick, floors of the mall. Even though the mall was very dark, as it was closed, I could still see the blood trail Nick left in his tracks. I found myself at the mall's front doors. Without looking behind me I pushed backwards through them, Nick right in front of me. I dropped Nick as a I heard running. I spun around, tranquilizer in hand.

"Judy, wait, stop!" Two officers yelled at me in unison, a wolf and a bear. If I could pass out from being relieved, I would have. The two officers carried Nick back to the group of squad cars and ambulance located across the parking lot.

"How did you guys know?" I choked, still in pain after what had happened. The wolf that helped me with Nick happened to be Alex, the guy he spoke with before we left. After boarding Nick in the ambulance, Alex knelt down next to me and grabbed my shoulders, making me flinch.

"We got a call about gunshots, and after finding out that they we around this general area, everyone was scared to hell. Judy, I can't express this more, but I promise you, Nick will survive." He told me. I started sniffing every other second at that point. I didn't want to disagree, that would only drag my spirit down even further, but I couldn't help but question it.

"How can, can you, you be so sure?" I stuttered, questioning his honeyed words. Alex, still on one knee, shook me very lightly. A look of confidence on his face.

"I'm sure because of you. He could never die knowing he abandoned you. Let's take you home, get you cleaned up, you do not want to look in a mirror." I slowly looked down after Alex stood up. the majority of my suit had blood stains on it, my paws drenched in blood, which was in the process of drying. He lost so much blood, how would he survive? Alex turned back to face me, the bear who carried Nick now with him.

"Let's get going, Alex and I will get you situated." The bear said with a deep, but calm voice. The three of us walked up to a squad car, the bear took the driver's seat, Alex took the passenger. I sat in the back, alone. Alex made sure to tell everyone where he was going, before the car left the parking lot.

"Judy, got an address for us?" Alex said in his smoky, moderately deep voice, turning his head towards me. I stayed silent for a moment before telling him. He nodded as he wrote it down. My mind was still just a cluster of emotions, and I didn't say another word the whole ride. The car bounced as we pulled into the driveway of my apartment. This wasn't like my old apartment, I didn't have obnoxious, loud neighbors, and I had a noticeably larger living space. Alex opened the door for me, and even put his hand on my back as I got out of the car. I didn't mind his interactions, it made me feel more secure about Nick for some reason. Once we went inside, Alex took my shoes to the sink to wash them, and I went to my bedroom to change. I threw a towel from the bathroom on the floor, and threw my blood stained uniform on it. I put on pajamas, because I just wanted to fall over and go to sleep, even though it was an hour before noon. When I walked out of my bedroom, I couldn't see Alex or his fellow bear. I heard something come from the kitchen, so I figured I would start there. I walked in only to see Alex towering over the stove, since he was at least twice my height.

"What are you doing?" Was my first reaction. He turned to me with a smile, and I noticed he had a pan on the stove. I drooped my ears.

"Well, I figured I would make something for you to eat, how does french toast sound?" He said, still holding his smile. I love the sound of french toast, but a stranger freely making it in my house is what made me want to say no. I was about to rudely ask why I can't make my own food, but Alex has done nothing but be nice to me.

"Yes, actually, it does. Also if you don't mind me asking, why are you doing all this, and where is the bear?" I spoke softly. Alex sighed, his smile fading. He eyebrows fell down.

"Judy, you mean a lot to Nick, and well, you mean a lot to everyone. You are Nick's only true, close, friend. Sure I hang with him a bit at work, but we don't really do anything other than talk a bit. Your fellow officers, such as myself, look up to you, ironically. You have such an optimistic spirit, so I figured during your time of need, I would like to help you retain said spirit. Oh and Jordan left." He said, having to take a breath halfway through his explanation. I took a moment to realize what he just said before smiling, rubbing my eyes. I then walked into the living room and dropped myself on the couch. I didn't bother to turn on the television, no sound what so ever, with the exception of the occasional movement of Alex in the kitchen. I closed my eyes, and let sleep take over my body.

"Alex to Judy, Alex to Judy, do you copy? Over." I heard, I opened my eyes slowly, one after another. The first thing I saw was Alex on the other side of a table, right against the couch. I sat up and leaned over the small table Alex had set up for us. We both ate our french toast, and Alex was able to get a few laughs out of me during our periodic conversation. "So Judy, what do you think of my absolutely amazing, delicious french toast?" He asked, making it very obvious he was joking.

"I love it, in fact you may be the greatest french toast cook ever." I followed up, the sarcasm radiating off of my words. Alex's eyes widened.

"I don't know Judy, that's quite a title you're giving me. The stranger making french toast in your house unsupervised while you sleep." He laughed. I joined along side him. I don't know why, but I felt as if I knew Alex, he was nice, witty, but there when you need him. He reminded me of Nick. My smile faded, my horrendous memories pushing their way into my mind.

"Carrots, look up here," Alex said. I raised an eyebrow at what he called me, "Don't think about me right now, think about the delicious, french toast the stranger made for you!" Alex said in his best imitation of Nick. I tried to fight the urge to laugh, but it didn't work. For the next two hours, Alex put a movie on my TV for us to watch. Every time him or I mentioned Nick, he calmly comforted me, or changed the subject.

"Nick would love this movie." I said, letting my mind drift back to my closest friend. Only partially aware how much Alex is trying to turn me away from his hospitalization.

"I think Judy also loves this movie. In fact, I think Judy would also love some popcorn," Alex said pausing the movie and jumping up. He grabbed my wrist and dragged me along with him to the kitchen. I didn't mind.

It was bizarre, having someone I've known for only a couple hours feel like a close friend. After hours and hours of Alex distracting me with movies, food, and even basic conversation. He left for the night. I was going to ask him to stay longer, but I already felt too awkward. I looked at the clock, it was ten o'clock. I took a deep breath and went to my bedroom. I think Alex was so great to have around, because he was so much like Nick, yet, I guess less obnoxious, My thoughts of Nick came back pretty quickly without anyone or thing to distract me. I just stared up at the ceiling, thinking, why did he have to get shot, why not me? Why did Bogo choose us to go to the mall? I couldn't force my self to sleep with these thought, but I was overtook by slumber eventually due to just how tired I was.

 **Nick's POV**

"Judy, did I ever tell you how important you are to me?" I passed onto her as everyone was leaving. Her ears fell behind her head and she shrugged.

"Well, no, not really, but I think I already know the answer." She said. She knew how much I cared for her. She knew damn well.

"Yes you do, and Carrots," I motioned to her with my arm as she was about leave, "Could you have Alex visit me again next time?" She gave me a warm smile before turning around once again to leave my vision.

"Sure Nick, anything for you." Then she disappeared for time being. Here I sit, now alone in a hospital room, with nothing more than a television, and a doctor to tell me how bad of a condition I'm in. I had a thought, what if I called my mother and told her about what had happened? I didn't just have this thought, I pondered it for hours at a time. I haven't seen my mother in person for a good four years, and haven't talked to her in probably a good two. It was hard for me to do something such as a simple call to her because we weren't very close during the last half of my childhood, and once I moved to Zootopia, that didn't really help. I thought about seemingly random topics to keep myself entertained while tied to my hospital bed. I thought about what exactly happened at the mall that day, I had passed out, so I had no clue, and no way could I, or would I ask Carrots. I also thought about Alex. I wondered why he was in the hospital room with Judy. From what I could tell, Judy was there for hours, and that would mean Alex was too. Sure I talk to him every now and then, but I really didn't know him that well, other than his name and that he liked joking around. I was thinking about all the golden conversation going on at the ZPD about me and Judy, when someone knocked on my door.

"Come in." I coughed, before the door swung open, revealing a familiar wolf.

"Hey, I thought I'd check in with you by myself for the day." Alex said, closing the door behind him. I thought he came because Judy wanted him to?

"Heh, well at least you're not just here because Judy dragged you along." I joked, trying to sit up just a little bit in my bed.

"I'm here because I need to talk to you." He said, with his serious voice.

"Why else would you be here Alex, I wonder." I scratched my chin, raising an eyebrow. He let out a soft chuckle.

"Very true, but in all seriousness, it's about Judy. I've been hanging out with her for the last few days, and to say the least, she misses you. More attached then anything I've ever seen before." Alex told me, concern in his voice. Of course she misses me, I'm her best friend.

"Oh please Alex, she has every reason to miss me, I'm her closest friend, who was just nearly killed." I rolled my eyes. Alex kept his serious face, that meant be prepared.

"Judy called me seven times yesterday Nick. Six of those times she was trying to distract herself with a social life so she wouldn't think about you. I had to redirect conversation about you over a dozen times. Even though you are okay, she is still worried to the point of crying at midnight." Alex claimed, almost angry, but sympathy caressing his words. I sat in silence. Judy was really worried, like beyond normal. I then focused more on what Alex said. I was deeply confused.

"So, you distract her, and try to make her stay positive?" I questioned. He nodded his head. "Did she call and wake you at midnight?" He said no and shook his head along with it.

"She did call me at like three in the morning one time, and since I had to go to work that day, she was very sorry, and apologized deeply, but that's about it for late calls." Alex explained.

"How long exactly were you with her?" I investigated. I actually enjoyed the fact that Alex was so willing to help Judy, after all, the best I could do it talk to her while she is here.

"Let's see, hmm," He began counting on his claws, he kept going, until he started over, "The day of the incident, about all day up until about ten o'clock, the next day, maybe seven or so hours, then I had to work the following afternoon, but got off early by Chief Bogo, so probably another five, yesterday about the same as before, and finally today we were here, which I guess really doesn't count." Alex ended. He also noticed my jaw was open. Pretty sure he is insane to take such a task. Judy's company is fine, but eleven hours in one day? I think I'd run out of things to say to her. I did find it strange that Alex was with her at midnight, but I was just assuming such based on what he told me, so I could theoretically be wrong.

"Okay I get the point, she is struggling." I flatly accepted. Alex smiled before giving me a salute.

"Well, that's all I wanted to tell you, anyways, goodnight Nick, see you tomorrow." Alex said, turning towards the door.

"Wait!" I said, coughing mid sentence, "Please don't leave, stay for another ten minutes." I begged, desperate for conversation. Alex sighed then pulled a chair up to my bed. Alex stayed for another forty minutes before leaving. To say the least, if I wasn't stuck here in the hospital, I would have offered drinks on me. I slumped deeper into my pillow before falling asleep with a smile.

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 **Author's Note**

 **I changed my original plan for this story in what I think is a good way, but anyways hope you enjoyed chapter two. Let's just say Alex has a more significant role in the story as he was going to. Please leave a review and offer criticism, compliments, or ideas for me, I will indeed enjoy it, as long as you use logic.**

 **...**

 **When I got into writing this, I didn't think I would refuse to stop writing it.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Medicine

**Author's Note**

 **This chapter contains violence, hope you like that stuff. Also, this chapter is very weird, and like I will say in the end, it has yet to be fully explained.**

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 **Judy's POV**

Sitting alone in my living room, I was watching a documentary about someone who wants to be the first sloth to get first place in a hundred meter dash. I heard a knock at my door and bounced off the couch. I already knew who it was, it was Alex, who was picking me up to go see Nick.

"Good morning Judy, let's not keep Nick waiting. You know how much he hates being stuck in that hospital." He greeted me. Today is the fifth day since he woke up, so that means the doctor would be confronting us further on his condition, and when he could, and should leave. I'm not just hoping he gets out soon for me, but for his sanity. "Maybe one of these days I can make you french toast again." I smiled, that would be nice, not having to make my own food everyday.

"Yeah, that would be nice, but I don't think you'd want to wake up early just to make me food." I corrected. He just let out a small laugh before entering his car. I climbed into the passenger seat and sat quietly.

"Hey Judy, I wanted to tell you," He began. "I don't want you to feel awkward with me being so friendly, it's just that you and Nick are great to be around, and when Nick gets back to his normal routine, I would love to hang out with the two of you." It's been less than a week and I already know his serious tone versus his casual one.

"It's fine, I would too, besides, you already knew Nick before this even happened." I said with a flick of my paw. Alex then turned on the radio, making sure "Try Everything" was playing. He even knew what songs I liked. Alex remained quiet for the next few minutes, focusing on his driving. I pulled out my phone and texted Nick that we would be there in a couple more minutes. Nick sits up in his bed now, and I text him throughout the day.

"How many nicknames does Nick got for you?" Alex asked out of nowhere. I shook my head, counting them up.

"Not that many, at least three though. In case you couldn't tell, he prefers using Carrots." I laughed, reading Nick's response. Alex pulled up to the hospital, and we strolled through the front doors. We took the elevator to the third floor and found ourselves outside Nick's room.

"Nick, a very special bunny is here to see you." Alex said, pressing his snout against the door. We both entered the room, finding Nick sitting up in his bed, watching TV.

"Hey Carrots, hey Alex. Take a seat, enjoy your stay." Nick greeted, relieved that we had saved him from another hour of boredom.

"So when is your doctor supposed to come in?" I asked, the wait was killing me.

"Well from what I heard, anytime between now and thirty minutes. After all, you guys are a bit early." Nick cleared up, taking a drink from his water cup next to him. "Instead of just talking, I was thinking we could watch something." He paused, grabbing the TV remote from his side. "How about cops?" He said, changing the channel. It was a show about cops, pretty self-explanatory.

"Nick, be careful, watching cops bust criminals is quite interesting. You already want to get out of here enough." Alex intervened. Nick and I laughed, knowing the truth of his words. For the next ten minutes we just watched the show together, not much conversation, just us. Even with our silence, Nick still enjoyed every second of it, I could tell. A panda entered the room, Nick's doctor.

"Judy and Alex, thank you for joining Nick and I today. You can call me Dr. Harris." He declared. "I would like to start off by saying Nick is 'recovering' quite well, but I don't think he will be walking for at least another week or two." He said, keeping a polite smile upon his face. I wished for the best, which would be for Nick to get out today in a wheelchair.

"Hey doc, I'll just be a moment, I got to use the restroom." Alex said quickly before getting up. He backed out of the room, closing the door behind him. I frowned, knowing I'd have to wait just a moment longer to hear when Nick could leave.

"Alex better hurry, or else Carrot's head might explode from anticipation." Nick said, acting concerned. Even getting a laugh out of the doctor. I smiled, but didn't want to encourage Nick any further. Alex jogged back into the room, as always, making sure to close the door behind him. He slid back into seat.

"You have my permission to continue Dr. Harris." Alex joked, resting his paws in his lap. I would be biting my nails right now if it wouldn't be so embarrassing. Nick just sat there smiling, he appeared confident that he was good enough to leave.

"Nicholas Wilde, I'm sorry, but I don't think you will be leaving anytime soon." Dr. Harris said, sympathy projecting from his voice.

"That can't be! He has been fine the last couple days!" I shouted, before covering my mouth. Dr. Harris didn't look surprised at all.

"I'm sorry dear, but Nick has a rare case of quite the false recovery." Harris started. I had no clue what he meant. "Basically, his mind is tricked into thinking he has recovered, at least to an extent." He finished. I still didn't understand, wouldn't Nick be in pain right now if that were true?

"So you mean his body is still in critical condition, but his subconscious is telling him that he is okay?" Alex pondered, probably just as confused as I was. Nick had one eyebrow raised, looking down at his blanket covering his legs.

"Yes I'm afraid so, which means we can't let Nick leave until we are sure his physical and mental reflection on his injuries are the same, or else he could get seriously hurt, again." Dr. Harris answered, standing up and putting a paw on my back. A tear escaped my eye as the doctor told us we should leave Nick to rest.

"Please let Judy stay, I want her here with me." Nick jumped in, catching Dr. Harris of guard. He sighed, scratching his head.

"I'm sorry Nick, and to you too Judy, but you need to rest, and after lunch we will be further investigating the problem." Doc sighed, opening the door to the cold corridor. He motioned for Alex and I to follow him, so we did.

"Nick will be fine, I promise." Alex said, patting me on the back. Usually his words would comfort me with ease, but Nick wouldn't be out for who knows how long. Alex took me to his car, and we drove off, not exchanging another word for the time being.

"Look Judy, I'm sorry about what happened in there, let's get lunch, on me." He exclaimed, pulling into Zubway (I know, terrible cliche pun). There was almost no line, so Alex and I got to order rather quickly.

"I'll just have a six-inch sub with carrots and cucumbers." I said, Nick's condition still effecting my voice. Alex kept his hand on my shoulder as he ordered.

"I'll have the same thing." He followed up. I furrowed my eyebrows as I looked up at him. Alex walked past me, not noticing my confusion. We both took a seat at a high, rounded table, far away from the other four customers here.

 **Nick's POV**

I watched Judy and Alex leave with Dr. Harris, and not soon after, he returned. He held his paws together tightly. "Nick, your treatment will arrive shortly." He said before leaving. My treatment? I thought that was for after lunch. The door closed, a shadow overtook the light coming from outside. The door swung open, hitting the wall next to it. Two mammals entered, a jaguar and a polar bear.

"Nicholas, you can either let us do our job, or we can restrain you." Is all the jaguar said before the two quickly moved towards my bed. My first instinct was to jump out of the bed, but I could barely move my left leg, my right one not much better, so I just ended up jerking around a little bit. I yelled for them to get away, but the polar bear put a paw on my chest, pushing me back down against the bed.

"You stay quiet, or I hold your trap shut for yeh." The white bear quietly explained, his large size preventing me from seeing what the jaguar was working on behind him. He readjusted himself so that the jaguar could get to my arm, revealing a large syringe needle.

"What kind of medicine is that, if there is no harm in asking?" I asked, stuttering in concern. Before I could get an answer, a pain shot through my arm, I jerked, causing the pain to intensify. He yanked the needle out, my arm slowly distributing blood to my fur. The two of them left within five seconds, closing the door behind them. I lied there, still trying to recover from shock.

"Yes it's done, go ask em yourself if is-such ah big deal." Just barely I made out what the polar bear said outside. I started thinking, am I dreaming? I knew i wasn't, but I couldn't process the meaning behind my 'Medicine'. Dr. Harris slowly entered the room, eyes wide.

"What," I gasped, "The hell was that about." I finished, still painting as I inspected my arm. Dr. Harris dropped his surprised and nervous look, now looking rather angry.

"That, would be your 'Medicine', I hope you enjoy it while it lasts." He started, taking my phone from my side table. By the time I noticed, I couldn't stop him from backing away. "Nick, you seem to just be realizing just how cruel reality is." He laughed. I growled at him, but he didn't show the slightest reaction. "I'm sorry, how rude of me, what I mean is that that medicine will make sure you don't recover. It does the opposite, your condition will either stay the same, or worsen." He corrected.

"Why?" Was all I could said at this point, nothing made sense to me.

"Judy Hopps, your partner, is indeed a special character, you are as well, but Judy won't be difficult to sway. Alex is taking good care of her. With you stuck here for the rest of your time, which hopefully won't be long, Judy will be ours for the taking." He continued to explain that I was the only thing stopping Judy from whatever he said, which I still didn't know what. "Judy scored top of her class, and without her to solve a certain case, let's face it, predators such as yourself could be locked up at this point." He concluded. Then he left without another word. I sat alone in my bed, head back, focusing on one thing only. How to contact Judy. Sure she visits everyday, but they obviously won't let her visit me tomorrow. I could scream, I could try to get up, I could even try to attack Dr. Harris next time he comes in, but let's face it, all of those would probably result in me getting hurt or punished in some way. I sat up, taking in the environment of the room. Noting where everything was, hoping I could find something to help me escape. I fell back, feeling my blanket get stuck on my toe. I tried yanking the blanket, but my claw held on tight, not letting go. I sat up and carefully picked the blanket off. I wiggled my toe afterwards. I fell back down, sighing. My eyes slowly widened. I jumped up, moving my toes again, before throwing the blanket off of me, half of it falling to the floor. I moved my left leg up, bending it back and forth. I poked the large bandage on my leg. Painless.

 **Judy's POV**

After finishing our Zubway sandwiches, Alex and I got back into his car, about to head towards my apartment. "So Judy, how were the sandwiches?" He asked casually.

"They were good." I said, no emotion in my voice. Alex kept silent the rest of the ride, occasionally looking at me. His eyebrows were pushed down almost the whole time, not in an angry way, but more of a worried one.

"Carrots, I mean Judy, I understand what you're feeling right now." Alex said, his serious side taking over. I started feeling angry, I didn't quite know why.

"Nick calls me Carrots." I said, folding my arms. Alex sighed, fighting the urge to respond. He pulled up to my apartment, and left the car to open my door for me. I opened it before he got a chance and stalked pass him. I unlocked my front door and went to close the door.

"Judy, I don't know what I said to upset you, but could I at least get a goodbye?" Alex asked, bending to meet my level. I just stared at him. He just smiled warmly.

"I'm sorry Alex, I'm just upset about Nick." I sighed, then flinched when Alex grabbed me, pulling me into a hug.

"Nick won't give up on you." He whispered into my ear before letting go. He quickly went back to his car and drove off in what seems only several seconds. I stood in my front doorway for another minute, just thinking: Nick would be okay.

 **Nick's POV**

I threw my upper body off the bed, landing on both paws, my legs collapsing onto the cold floor behind me. I felt both my legs returning from their deep sleep, moving them around to warm up. Once I was up on my feet, I paced around the room, adjusting to my sudden ability to move my legs. I snuck over to the door between me and the long, wide open hallway, which would surely get me caught if I wasn't careful. Whoever was behind this surely wanted to make sure I didn't escape. I slowly opened the door, wincing as the door creaked. I stalked into the hall, making sure no nearby doors were open, I started walking.

I entered the main lobby, it was almost empty, except for a pig, the desk attendant. She noticed me before I got a chance to say anything, and was quick to note my injuries. She went to pick the up phone, but I stopped her by putting my hand up. "Wait, don't call anyone, I don't need anymore trouble." I told her, before regretting it as it sounded like more of a threat than a beg for mercy. "I'm sorry, that came out wrong," I heard heavy pawsteps behind me. I turned around to see the polar bear who restrained me earlier, wielding a gun. He was too far for me to try anything, and with my condition, I probably couldn't do anything anyways.

"Sorry Nicholas, we gave ye a chance." He said, his words actually carrying a bit of guilt. I opened my mouth to respond. Then my ears were filled with the same ringing from the mall, and I fell backwards, my flesh being ripped apart. The desk attendant surely called 911 by now, or so I hoped. I couldn't abandon Judy, I couldn't leave this world knowing I left behind one thing, pain. I sat right back up, feeling the pain from my shoulder, I winced. Then again, I was forced back down, another shot fired. My heart was still beating, and it was beating too fast for comfort, blood poured into my fur. The polar bear leaned over, staring at me, his breath lacing with mine. I swung my arm up and punched him. It seemed to have little effect, but he willingly backed up. I held my arm in pain, as I was just shot in the shoulder previously. I watched as the bear backed up even more. He shot me once again, and again. My breathing became even more painful, coughing up blood every now and then. I closed my eye, feeling my pain slowly fading, I accepted my fate. I felt my breathing die down. I slowly opened my eyes, the bear watched me as I sat up. His jaw slowly opened before he sprinted down the hall, leaving me alone. I noticed the desk attendant left as well, go figure.

"You're lucky I gave you a chance too..." I sputtered, the polar bear long gone. I fell backwards, with nothing but the thought of resting. Not long after, I sat up again, very slowly. I looked at my legs, a large bandage on both. I grabbed the edge of the bandage on my left leg and tore it off slowly. Every inch I peeled, my eyes rose even higher. Once I finished, a fully healed leg was revealed. I laughed out loud just a bit before catching myself, not wanting to sound insane, even when alone. I then felt pain emerging in my shoulder again. I tilted my head, looking directly into the wound on my right shoulder. The bullet was still inside. The pain got worse rather quickly, I tried to find a way to dig it out, but I couldn't use my claws, as that was terrible dangerous, and they wouldn't fit anyways. After another minute, the pain was worse than when I first got shot, I started panting, and groaned to hold back screaming. I took one last look at my shoulder, flesh was slowly overtaking the wound, trapping the bullet inside. Whatever Mr. Jaguar gave me, it definitely was not medicine.

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 **Author's Note**

 **Yes that was weird. Let's say Nick's luck finally turned up, or at least for a little bit. Hope you enjoyed this strange chapter, more will be explained in the next one, don't worry. As for Judy, I'm not sure if she will be relieved that Nick has recovered, more or less, with the fact that he was almost murdered in the process. Please leave a review, share your powerful thoughts, advice, and ideas with me.**


	4. Chapter 4 - Dealing Under The Table

**Author's Note**

 **I should probably change the genre of this story, seeing that I have included Friendship, Tragedy, Sci-fi, and will probably have romance. I think the main two however are Sci-fi and Friendship, but that's just me. Anyways, enjoy chapter four, and leave a review with your constructive thoughts and ideas.**

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 **Judy's POV**

I sat in my bed, back against the wall, just in deep thought. I wanted to visit Nick right now. I was about to call and ask when I could visit again, but then someone knocked on my door. Alex left only an hour ago, so I figured it couldn't be him. I opened the door, and was confused. Chief Bogo actually came to my house.

"Judy Hopps, I believe you had some time to get yourself back on your feet, yes?" He asked. I did, but I still don't know why he would be here.

"Well yes, um, why are you here?" I questioned, before another figure walked towards the front door, Alex.

"I am here first off because I have some details regarding your occupation." He told me, being vague on purpose I bet. Was I in trouble? Was I going to be questioned about the mall? "Let me start by saying you deserve this Hopps. You are getting a promotion, nothing too big, but I'm sure you will like it." He finished with a swing of his arm. It wasn't like him to act all cheery. Alex stood next to him, keeping quiet.

"Why is Alex here then?" I asked Bogo.

"Alex is here because he, and many others, will be joining you on a mission. A very big mission. Now I wanted to ask you, are you prepared for something like this?" He said, sounding genuinely concerned. I actually couldn't tell wether he was acting or not. Part of me wanted to say yes, while the other half wanted to say no.

"What about Nick?" I opposed, wanting to know how Nick would play into said mission.

"Nick will have no role in this mission, just you, Alex, and several others." He said with a smile. That's not what I wanted to hear, but he thought it was. I wanted Nick beside me, just like he was on all our other cases.

"We want Nick to be safe, and in his current condition, it would be best if he wasn't stressed about his job." Alex explained. I was about to ask when Nick would be allowed to work again, but Alex's phone rang. He quickly looked at it, before putting it back in his pocket. Bogo just gave him a short glance.

"Think about it Hopps, we will be in touch." He said before turning around. Alex stayed for a moment longer, just watching me. "Alex, you have a job you know." Bogo seemed to have caught his attention, and he left as well.

"I'll visit you later today." Alex said as he turned the corner to the squad car. I couldn't say yes, what if I got hurt too? Then I would be stuck in the hospital just like Nick, and wouldn't be able to just visit him when ever. I sighed and went back to my bed, this time lying down. Hearing about Nick's 'False Recovery' earlier today wasn't what I needed to get back on the force. It was only three o' clock and I was feeling tired. I felt tired of course, but I couldn't sleep. I rolled over a dozen times in bed, not sure what to say to Alex and Bogo. A heard a pounding from outside my room. The doorbell then flared up, ringing at least five times. I groaned, not wanting to get up from bed again. I lurked towards the door and opened it. "Hey Jude, will you kindly take a drive with me, like right now?" Alex said, shuffling his legs as he talked. I liked that nickname, Jude.

"Alex, I just want to rest right now, we can talk about the mission later." I said, opening the door wider. I turned my back to him and slowly walked back towards the living room. "You can come in if you like, but please close the door." I finished before throwing myself on the couch. Alex came inside the second I said that, and closed the door behind him.

"It's not about the mission, I just need to talk to you about something, like now." He said urgently. I sighed, my as well forget about resting, because he is using not his serious tone, but his super serious tone.

"Let's hear it then, don't want to keep me waiting." I said, looking up at him. He then proceeded to sit next to me on the couch. My phone starting ringing just before he could open his mouth. "Never mind, hold that thought." I said whipping out my phone. "It's Nick." I whispered before standing up and walking into the kitchen.

"Hey Judy, it's me, I can't talk much over the phone, but I will be at your house in a couple minutes." Nick started, out of breath. "Are you alone?" He questioned, pain haunting his voice. I thought for a moment, glancing over at Alex with a worried look, he starred back, confused as to what Nick could be talking about.

"Yes, and Nick you better explain why the hell you are out of breath right now." I asked quietly so Alex couldn't hear me.

"I will explain once I get there, I will be coming through the back, make sure all your windows are closed, and Judy," He paused, "I'm sorry." My heart starting racing, what was he talking about? My breathing thickened, and I'm sure Alex would take quick notice that something was wrong. Why must I be alone? Would he be upset that Alex was here with me? They were friends, of course he wouldn't. Nick then hung up, and I put my phone back in my pocket.

"Judy, what's wrong?" Alex asked, entering the kitchen. I should tell him, he would help me.

"It's Nick." I said, a tear forming in my eye. I starred down at the ground.

"Nick will be fine, in fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he recovered in the next week." He assured me.

"Nick said he would, he would," I stuttered, "Be here in a minute." I ended, making Alex let go of my shoulder.

"Excuse me? Here, as in your house?!" He said, raising his voice. He grabbed his head with both paws. He ran to the front window and looked left and right, searching the streets. Alex jumped as he heard a knock. He looked at the front door, only a couple feet from him, but realized that wasn't the source of the sound. I walked over to the backdoor, which was covered by shutters. "Jude, do not open that door." Alex whispered, now right behind me. I jumped a little, thinking he was still at the front of the house. The knocking resumed.

"Judy, please open the door." Nick said. "I know you're in there, I heard you in the kitchen." He claimed. I inched closer to the handle, Alex right behind me, almost cowardly. I quickly swung the door open, placing both paws on my mouth from the sight. I heard Alex back up a couple feet. Nick was wearing his normal brown pants, green shirt and tie, but they were riddled with blood stains and holes. The majority of his fur wasn't groomed, and ruined by sweat and blood. I wanted to just run away, but this was my best friend, I couldn't do that. Nick went from looking tired and scared to looking like he had eaten a Nighthowler. He wasn't looking at me though, he looked above me, at Alex.

"Nick, I'm sure you are angry, but I can explain," Was all Alex could say before Nick lunged at him, I watched as Nick flew over me towards him. Alex was quick to dodge, and then ran into the living room. Nick slammed into the wall, and recovered in a blink of an eye.

"STOP!" I yelled, "Nick, please!" I continued as Nick ran towards the living room. Alex, still in his police uniform, drew his tranquilizer, causing Nick to yield, instead just pacing a couple feet from Alex.

"You going to shoot me? Huh is that how it's going to be?" Nick yelled, causing me to wince at every word. I've never even seen Nick half this angry.

"Nick, you make any sudden movements and I will, I'm trying to help you." Alex shot back, not as loud as Nick, but enough to get through to him. I slowly left the kitchen, making sure to keep a good distance from the both of them.

"Oh yes, help me, I almost died in that hospital. Thanks to you, Dr. Harris, and whoever the hell else was involved!" Nick's words pierced my ears. My mind was trying to process what he said, but I couldn't.

"That 'Medicine' you received, you think that it was SUPPOSED to do what it did? Alex howled, now sounding just as angry as Nick. "I saved your life, I did what I could without getting myself killed." He finished, starting to calm down, but not much. Alex sighed for several seconds. "You were supposed to die, yes, but remember when I took that restroom break? I took that time to ensure the 'Medicine' you received would help you, not kill you." Alex explained. Nick fell to his knees, then slowly landed on both paws.

"I'm not sorry for attacking you. You still have a lot to explain to me." Nick said, before rolling over, panting. Seeing as the violence has died down, I ran over to Nick.

"Nick are you okay?" I said, crying in the process. He turned his head to me, opening his eyes.

"No Carrots, I'm not. My shoulder has a bullet in it, which is surrounded by flesh, and burns like hell, I'm covered in blood, I've been shot several times, and..." He trailed off, taking a breath, "I ruined my favorite shirt." He said with a half smile before dropping his head back to the ground. I was about to smack him for trying to be funny at a time like this, but he was in enough pain. Alex carried Nick to my bed, making sure to cover the surface with towels before placing him there gently. Blood already staining both the towels and Alex's paws and uniform. Alex then sat at the kitchen table with me.

"Nick will survive his injuries." Was all he said, awaiting a response from me. He knew what I was going to ask, but he likes to hear it.

"How can you be sure?" I asked, following with his planned conversation.

"Nick was originally going to be given an alteration to his body, which would in return, halt his recovery from the mall incident, and possible even slowly kill him. However, I switched it out with it's opposite, which was conveniently in the same location." He explained, that hit hard.

"So Nick recovered from his past injuries and present ones?" I asked, still not believing what Alex was telling me.

"According to what I know, Nick should recover from any gunshot wound in a matter of hours, at most a day or two. Not to mention, he shouldn't feel near as much pain when receiving them. With the exception of the bullet stuck in his shoulder." He finished, before sighing. "I did know about the plan to kill him, and before I didn't care, but after meeting you, and visiting him in the hospital, I knew I couldn't let it happen. So I did what I could to stop it." He soothed, making me forgive him slightly more. I still wanted to just knock Alex on the ground and start hitting him relentlessly, but that would do me no good, since he is bigger than me, and also is trying to help. "This powerful injection wasn't meant for Nick, Jude, it was meant for you." Alex declared. "You see, you were going to be the first super soldier. I gave it to Nick instead, saving his life, but at the same time possibly ruining it, you see, this is what I wanted to tell you earlier, but then Nick called." He sighed. I could tell he was truly sorry, and that he did all he could to help.

"Okay. I forgive you." I half lied, still angry at him. Alex looked shocked.

"Just like that? You forgive me?" He pushed. I could tease him a little, just like Nick and I would.

"No, I lied, get the hell out of my house." I shot back, using my most serious voice. Alex dropped his ears, sorrow filling his eyes. "I'm kidding, of course I forgive you. You were only trying to help, right?" I corrected before he actually got up to leave.

"Yeah, right, of course." He stuttered, obviously embarrassed. He chuckled a little. "I thought this was serious time, you scared me." He scratched behind his head. We both started easing up, telling jokes, and teasing each other. Then we started cooking up something to eat, for Nick too, of course.

 **Nick's POV**

I stalked back into the hospital, my wounds all painless, except for my shoulder, I took the elevator to the highest floor. As the door opened, I noticed all the lights in the floor were off. This floor was under construction, and has been for the last month. I've been thinking to myself, where could this operation possibly be located. "Dr. Harris, are you home?" I said, my voice echoing throughout the entire floor of the hospital. The friendly jaguar that gave me my medicine slowly lurked into the hall, carrying quiet the weapon. An assault rifle. However, he was a good twenty feet from me, so I couldn't disarm him.

"You know, you aren't invincible my friend." He calmly said, raising his gun. He shot at least a dozen shots in only a second, half of them hitting me. I stumbled backwards due to the sheer force, but I remained standing.

"More so than you are, my friend." I said, and slowly began laughing. The bullets really did hurt, hurt like a bitch, but I wanted to intimidate him, so I put on a little act. He held the look of surprise. He grabbed his walkie-talkie from his belt.

"Doc, how strong exactly is Judy's 'Medicine'?" He raised an eyebrow, maybe he found out I could be bluffing, in fact, I was starting to feel weak, as if I would just fall back right now. Before he could continue his conversation, I ran towards him full speed. Instead of shooting, he preserved his ammunition, turning into a full sprint. I started falling behind rather quickly. I kept pushing, telling my self that this guy didn't deserve to get away. The hallway turned, and I did too, continuing pursuit. I became noticeably faster, and began gaining on the jaguar. He processed this as well, and tried blind firing down the hall, but that only slowed him down more. As I ran, I forced my claws into a bullet hole in my chest, it hurt terribly, but I had to ensure I wasn't full of metal by the end of this. I removed two bullets by the time I was close enough for a tackle. I lunged at him, grabbing him around the waist. Even though he was bigger than me, we both still fell to the floor. I jumped off him and grabbed his assault rifle from his hands, he wasn't quick enough to strengthen his grip, as he was still recovering from being knocked down. He jumped to his feet, and I back away, ready to fire.

"You won't do it, you're not a killer, besides, Alex is one phone call away from going to Judy's house." He breathed, a smile spreading across his face.

"I wasn't a killer, you made me one." Disregarding the threat, I pulled the trigger, shooting only the ground below him. He jumped, letting out a shriek. I laughed, "Also, I'd love if you gave me my phone back, or else I may just have you lead me to Dr. Harris." Luckily, he actually pulled my phone out and slid it across the floor to me. Didn't think he would have it. "Please, do tell Dr. Harris that he can't have Judy or me." I said, waiting for him to run away. "Go, before I change my mind Mr. Jaguar." I told him, motioning with my paw for him to leave. He ran down the hall, and entered one of the hospital rooms. I didn't want to hurt him, he was probably doing this because he needed money. He probably had kids waiting for him at home. Dr. Harris on the other hand, seemed more like he wanted to do this, so yes I would for sure hurt him, he was probably in one of these rooms, but I was weak, and wanted to find Judy. I returned to the elevator and went back to the first floor. I was quick to stop myself from entering the lobby when I saw multiple ZPD officers searching the the place. I was quick to run to the back entrance of the hospital, grateful that they haven't made their way back here yet. Walking down the street would draw attention, the best I could do was take the side roads, and use alleys whenever possible. I also ensured that the other four bullets had exit wounds, three did, so I tore the last one out. My claws were covered in blood.

"Sweetie, do you need any help?" A goat asked, slowing her car as she passed me.

"No thanks, I'm okay, but thanks for asking." She continued driving, still watching me, her eyes widened when she got a glance at my front, and she sped off. As if the blood covering my back wasn't enough to scare her. I continued walking for another fifteen minutes, getting glares from just about everyone. A few called the cops, and I had to run to avoid getting caught. Eventually I recognized the area, it wasn't far from Judy's house, so I pulled out my phone. I would need to call Judy to give her a heads up.

 **Judy's POV**

Alex, Nick, and I sat at my kitchen table, eating our diner. It was mostly just a snack, mac n' cheese and carrots. Alex actually seemed to like carrots, while Nick just got blueberries from my fridge.

"Wow Nick, didn't know you were that hungry." I said, referring to the fact that Nick ate the entire container of blueberries, and two servings of mac n' cheese.

"Well Carrots, I'll have you know I lost a few pounds earlier today, in blood. Got to make up for it somehow." He exaggerated, he didn't lose that much blood, if he did, he wouldn't be alive right now.

"Actually Nick, it's due to the reserves of your body being abnormal. Your body is using too much energy to keep you healed up, so you are, in return, hungry and or tired pretty much whenever you get injured." Alex explained. He knew quiet a lot about this whole thing.

"That makes more sense." Nick said, looking into the empty blueberry container with one eye.

"Nick, no need to check every ten seconds, no more blueberries, and besides, it's transparent." Alex laughed, I joined along, but Nick stayed serious.

"Sorry, I don't know why I keep looking." He claimed, getting up and throwing the container away.

"Nick, there are side effects of that healing serum." Alex cautioned. "Look, let's just say I was there when the thing was being discussed. Good, now that I got that out of me, some of those side effects include memory problems, health problems, improper sleep patterns, and lack of logic, such as opening a transparent container of blueberries to see that it's empty. The serum wasn't finished, but I'm sure with some help I could fix it somehow." Alex finished. That's a lot to take in.

"So basically I'm mentally ill, at the cost of being a physical power house." Nick summarized. Alex looked up for a moment and then nodded his head.

"Great, hopefully I can still make Judy laugh." Nick said, "It's so weird that of all mammals, you were the one to be involved with this." Nick said to Alex, now smiling. "I'm glad they chose you, otherwise I would be dead right now, and Judy would probably be bragging about her superpowers." Nick said, getting up from his chair. "If you need me, I will be sleeping, I'll move my towels to the couch."

"Hey Nick, before you die on us, what's your address?" Alex asked.

"Why? Leave something from last night?" Nick asked, giving us his sly smile. I laughed and Alex just rolled his eyes.

"No, I was going to pickup some clothes for you, so you don't have to get both dried and fresh blood all over the place, even if it's on towels, which are now ruined." Alex corrected, and took a notepad from his shirt pocket.

"1955 Cypress Grove Lane," Nick offered, "and I don't have my keys, so I hope one of your hidden talents is lock picking, or breaking windows." He concluded.

"Don't worry, I won't break anything." Alex got up and went to the front door. He left quietly, leaving Nick and I alone for the first time in awhile. After sitting quietly for a minute, I grew bored.

"Hey Nick, now that Alex is gone, I feel like I can really talk to you." I said, growing nervous. I wanted to talk to Nick about us. What the future holds. I stood up and walked towards the living room. I sighed, seeing Nick sprawled out on the couch, sleeping. I couldn't wake him, he is going to need a lot of rest. I slowly moved towards him, placing a paw on his forehead. I slowly stroked his fur, rubbing behind his ears. I couldn't help but smile, luckily there wasn't really any blood above his neck. Nick subconsciously enjoyed it, pushing into my paw. "Don't give up on me, Nick." I said before returning to the kitchen.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Yay! Longest chapter yet, only by a bit. I plan on making chapter five longer... Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'm thinking about adding some romance to this story, but I'm not sure, please give me your opinion on that, and what you overall thought of the chapter, it's GREATLY appreciated. I have fun writing these chapters, and I hope you have fun reading them.**


	5. Chapter 5 - Heartbeat

**Author's Note**

 **Here is a less dramatic chapter for you guys, all in Nick's POV, but you know how I like to leave things at the end of my chapters... I hope you enjoy it.**

* * *

 **Nick's POV**

My eyes were closed, my body sound asleep. I was still deep in thought about what was going to happen these next few days. Then I felt a paw gently press against my forehead, Judy's. She slowly stroked my fur, and behind my ears. My head leaned into it just barely. I wanted to move my arm up to her ears and do the same, but I couldn't, I was sleeping. If this is one of the side effects Alex was talking about, then this is going to suck. Do I sit here and think for eight hours straight? I sure hope not. Maybe I'm not in deep sleep yet. Is Judy gone? Her paw was no longer against my fur, so most likely. She could just be staring at me. Is Alex back with my clothes yet? I tried to shut myself up, but I just kept asking random questions to myself. After about ten minutes or so I felt my eyes start to rise, revealing the dark moonlight.

I pulled my phone out of my pocket and checked the time, two at night. Then another thing caught my eye. I wasn't sleeping for ten hours. I was asleep for thirty four. I groaned, upset that I probably missed out on something important and relevant. Oh well, I could just ask Alex or Judy. Speaking of them, Alex was sleeping on floor with a blanket and pillow. Carrots was probably in her room. I snuck over to the restroom and shut myself inside. I took off my casual green shirt, revealing my blood ridden fur. If anyone saw me now, they'd think the blood wasn't mine, as every wound I once had was now invisible. I stepped outside, leaving my shirt on the toilet, and looked around the dark, silent house. I found a stack of clothes on the coffee table next to the couch, I remember now that Alex had gotten some outfits for me while I was out. I grabbed a pair of jeans and another green shirt. I had a couple extra green shirts, because like I said, it's my favorite.

As I placed my new outfit neatly on the toilet, I made sure to move my old, blood stained shirt to the floor. I took my pants off and climbed into the shower, and turning the water on, it was cold, but I wanted to clean my fur as soon as possible. I pulled and yanked on clots of fur, pulling our dry blood, after only five minutes I got out and grabbed a new towel from the cabinent to dry myself off. I had a crazy thought. How strong were my healing capabilities? Mr. Jaguar asked this question back at the hospital. I put on my new pants and stalked into the kitchen. I mentally slapped myself as I starred at the counter, a large knife sitting in it's wooden holder. No, that's a stupid idea. I am not cutting myself. I repeated this as I took the knife and jogged back into the restroom, closing the door. I wanted to know for sure, what exactly happens to my injuries. I lost so much blood from the hospital, I should be dead, even without the gunshots. I placed my new clothes on the floor, then I sat on the toilet. I pulled the knife up to my paw, readying myself. As I inched closer, I felt the cold metal graze my fur.

"Nick, are you in there?" Judy said throught the door, causing me to jump, cutting my paw.

"Damn it!" I yelled, dropping the knife. Dripping blood on the floor.

"Nick, are you okay? I'm coming in!" Judy said, concerned about my well being. She opened the door quickly, her arm covering her eyes.

"Judy, I'm not naked. You could have given me a heart attack!" I said, giving her the okay to open her eyes. Judy gasped upon dropping her arm, seeing the knife in front of her. Here we go.

"Nick, what the hell are you doing?" She whispered, realizing Alex was still sleeping just outside.

"I was testing myself. Seeing how exactly I recover, especially with blood and all." I claimed, not wanting her to make such a big deal out of this. Judy just starred at me, still confused, but less upset.

"Why are you shirtless, and still wearing those pants?" She asked. I was still wearing my old pants, which were ripped and covered in blood.

"Want me to take them off, Carrots?" I said, grabbing the waist of the pants. Her reaction will be priceless. She just makes it too easy to tease.

"I'm waiting outside, dumb fox." She said in anger, closing the door behind her as she left. I sighed, switching into my clean, blue jeans.

"Sly bunny." I whispered to myself as I put on a white tank-top on, then my green shirt over it. I left the restroom and entered the kitchen, where Judy was.

"I am making coffee, want some?" She asked quietly. I wasn't feeling tired, but I don't mind coffee.

"Sure, why don't you get some sleep? I kind of woke you up early." I wondered, as she usually wakes up around six.

"Well Alex and I decided, we were going to wake up early today anyways, or at least the day you woke up. Not this early, but no harm." She answered. That doesn't really make any sense, I thought. "You see, the three of us are going to the ZPD," She began, "and we are going to work with Chief Bogo to find whoever is behind this." She said, motioning a paw to me. That makes more sense, earlier the better. I thought about what Judy was doing before I was truly asleep. The both of us sat at the kitchen table, waiting for the coffee.

"Hey Judy, would you mind scratching behind my ears again? It felt great." I asked, her ears dropping behind her.

"I thought you were sleeping!" Judy refuted, leaning over and hitting my shoulder.

"If you're going to punch my shoulder, please use the other one, that one still has a bullet in it." I laughed, she didn't look amused. Judy got up and walked back towards the living room. My back facing her. I heard her stop, and then I felt her paws upon my head.

"Feels great huh?" She said, scratching everywhere behind my ears. I just grinned, it sure did.

"I'd rather have this than coffee every morning." I said, causing Carrots to stop. She walked over to the coffee machine. "The coffee can wait, can't it?" I asked. She just ignored me. "Aww, does Judy need her beauty sleep?" I joked, getting her attention.

"As a matter of fact I do, Nick." She played along, remembering the day of the mall incident. We both just laughed, dropping the conversation. We both drank our coffee in silence, it was burning hot, but I was used to the pain. Carrots starred at me almost every second of it, like she was trying to read my mind. I held my paw up in the air, looking at the now barely visible slash upon it.

"Hey Carrots, you wouldn't mind making your favorite fox here something to eat, would you? I am starving." I broke the silence, pushing my coffee mug away from me.

"You're one of the two foxes I know, don't get your hopes up." She said, getting up and walking over to the counter. "Alex has taught me his french toast recipe, which has been passed down for generations." She said slowly, grabbing away at cuboards. Sounds good enough for me. I wondered when Judy and I should wake up Alex, the clock on Judy's microwave was just about to strike three. I set my head face down on the kitchen table, my eyes covered in darkness. I looked up slightly every several seconds, watching Carrots make me food. I was glad to have her as a friend, anyone else probably would have abandoned me at a time like this.

"Boo." A disembodied voice whispered, causing me to jump. I turned around in my chair, my nose hitting Alex's. I placed my paw on his chest and pushed him back.

"You could have done better than that." I said, rubbing my nose. That boo was a little too weak, especially for him.

"Yeah, true, but I didn't want to give you a heart attack." He laughed, walking towards Carrots.

"Alex, good morning, want some french toast?" Judy asked, "I'm not letting you help me, I want to see if I can perfect it on my own." She said, making Alex take a step back.

"Sure, suit yourself, Jude." He answered, swinging around and taking a seat across from me at the table.

"Jude, huh? Where'd you get that one?" I asked. He put his paw on his chin, as if he was actually putting thought into answering.

"I just thought of it, sounds nice." I just shrugged and put my elbows on the table, holding my head up. I continued distracting myself with serene thoughts, most of them about Judy, my parents, more specifically my mother, and my job. I somehow managed to go from conversation to deep thinking in a matter of seconds. I thought about what Judy had said before I went to sleep a couple days ago. She wanted to talk about us, what does that mean? I had a weird feeling that I knew what it meant, but I didn't want to know.

"After we eat, we need to get ready to head over to the ZPD, Bogo wants us to meet him and a couple others there an hour earlier than our usual time. So around six, which gives us about three hours." Judy explained, breaking my trance. I went back to thinking afterwards. Judy approached the table, tossing down two plates of the frenchiest toast. She made sure to give me more than double what Alex got.

"I'm twice Nick's size but only get a third of what he is eating?" Alex questioned, even though he truly didn't care.

"Perhaps, but look at it this way, I use ten percent of my brain, you? Three percent. So I need to eat three times as much." I laughed. Carrots gave a little smile, sitting down between Alex and I.

"You got me." Alex whispered, almost as if turning himself in, putting his arms halfway in the air. I chuckled, returning to my french toast. I took a bite, then another, and another. It was delicious.

"Judy, you should let Alex make the french toast next time." I said, my mouth full. She looked a tad bit upset. "Because if you don't, I may end up gaining ten pounds." I said, devouring the rest of my food. That got her and Alex to laugh, and her to hit my wounded shoulder, gently this time.

"I love how you two manage to joke around and laugh, even after all that has happened." Alex said frankly. It was true, we kept our spirits up almost all the time. We continued eating our meal, and once finished, we all stood up at once.

"Okay, both of you, get in uniform." She instructed. I scratched my head in confusion.

"Carrots, we aren't due at the precinct for about another three hours. I'm sure we can just hangout for a tad bit longer." I started, she didn't look very convinced, she always wanted to be ready. "Please, I miss this, I've been stuck in a hospital this last week." She rolled her eyes, a grin forming.

"Alright, I get it, you hate being responsible." She laughed, "What are we going to do for the next two hours then?" I looked upwards after she asked, what would we do? Watching a movie seems too overused, and just talking in general would get boring.

"How about we test Nick's 'limits'?" Carrots asked, her grin crawling across her face. Alex looked at me deviously.

"What are you talking about?" I asked nervously, knowing exactly what she was talking about.

"Well, I'm interested in how you're effected by blood lose." She explained. "I was joking about 'testing', maybe just something small." That made me feel better, but not much, that knife hurt like a bitch earlier. Alex looked up, thinking about it.

"Actually, that would be interesting, but we have to be careful, Nick's body isn't at the least stable, health wise." Alex cut in, enforcing Judy's cautions. I shrugged, with a single nod of my head.

"You lost a lot of blood two days ago, Nick, regardless of the obviously fatal injuries, just the blood lose alone would have stopped your body from properly functioning." Alex told me, sounding more like a mad scientist every second.

"Just how involved were you with the science side of this operation?" I pursued, as Judy was jogging around the house, carrying objects which I wasn't paying attention to.

"I hate to tell you this, as it's terrible, but also good, but I somewhat helped in the process of making it." Alex explained, looked at the ground beside him. "I was there when Dr. Harris, along with a few others were designing and developing it." His words cutting into me. I felt angry at him, but his knowledge of this serum is only benefiting me.

"That explains how you knew so much about it earlier." I said calmly, "Well, let's do some 'testing' as Carrots calls it." I chuckled, looking around for her. My eyes widened when Judy came out of the bathroom, transporting an assortment of items. She had bandages, paper towels, her tranquilizer, a pen, and a notebook. She passed up and laid all these items on the kitchen island, and placed a knife next to the pile of stuff.

"Surely you are insane." Alex teased, but I could tell he was some truth in his voice. Judy just smiled, probably thinking about brutally torturing me.

"No, just want to know more about my favorite fox." She corrected. Heh, so I was her favorite fox. I mean, I already knew that. Judy placed a chair from her kitchen table in the center of the kitchen, and placed paper towels around it. I felt sick to my stomach as I sat down. "Nick, before I actually do anything, how painful is the knife?" She asked, noting my scene on the toilet earlier.

"Hurts like a bitch." I responded, using the same description as earlier. Her ears dropped at that, sympathy overtaking her.

"Nick, if you would have told me that earlier, I wouldn't have suggested..." She began, before I cut her off.

"It's not all that bad, go ahead, bring the knife here." I countered, partially lying so she wouldn't be upset. She brought the knife over and handed it to me. Alex standing silently by my side the whole time. I mentally prepared myself as I brought the knife to my paw, readying my body for the pain that would follow. I yanked the knife away, leaving a large cut across my paw, blood already oozing out. I grunted in pain, but held back the vigorous words that would usually follow. Alex and Judy just stared at my hand closely, not noticing anything special.

"So, how long until it heals?" Judy asked, disappointment radiating off her words.

"Give it a minute." Alex cut in, right before I could answer. The two of them continued watching, blood coming out slower and slower, until it stopped. A layer of skin overtook the wound, then another, and another. It was clear that there was a wound, but here in ten minutes it would look as if I hadn't even been cut.

"Wow, that sure is something." Carrots said, her face full of surprise. Alex nodded his head in agreement, not as shocked a Judy, but still amazed. Alex wiped my paw with a paper towel, before the blood could dry. We continued doing this for the next hour, mostly just for fun, even though it seems dark.

"I'm pretty sure your favorite fox here isn't dying anytime soon." Alex said, putting a paw next to his mouth, as if it was a secret. My phone buzzed in my pocket, the sudden silence told me that Judy and Alex heard it too. I slowly pulled my phone out, an unknown caller.

"Don't answer it." Judy cautioned. Alex sighed, looking at the phone.

"Answer it." He objected, making Judy shoot him an angry glare.

"Why, it's probably just a threat, that won't do us any good." She responded, easily beating Alex in the newly founded argument. I answered the phone, defying her orders.

"Hello?" I asked with a normal tone. No one responded at first, they must haven't realized I picked up, since I took so long.

"Hello Nick, it's your friend, Mr. Jaguar." Said the same voice from the hospital, "Let's not get overzealous here, but I was just wondering when you were going to visit again." He asked, showcasing no professionalism.

"I was thinking this Monday, maybe even tonight if you're lucky." I said, whispering seductively at the end, causing Judy to raise an eyebrow and Alex to hold in his laughter, covering his snout with both paws, he then crouched down next to me so he could tune in on the homoerotic conversation.

"Yes that sounds great, tonight would be even better, but we are no longer at the hospital." He said, apologizing about the inconvenience. If I was prepared, I could have traced this call, bummer. His voice picked back up, "I'll give you our current address." He forwarded. As he told me the address, I snorted. I thought right away it was fake, but then I countered, what if it's real, and they want a fight? No, they're too smart to do something like that. "Also, I'm using a pay phone, so don't bother tracing it, just come here and we can talk." He finished. While I thought about the address, he hung up.

"That sounded more like a significant other than a threat." Judy pondered. Alex couldn't help but laugh this time.

"It was someone from the hospital." I corrected, sliding my phone back into my pocket as her ears dropped.

"Payphones, who uses those anymore?" Alex joked, elbowing my side lightly. People that don't have the money for phones, people that don't have their phone on them, and criminals. It was almost five o' clock, just fifteen minutes shy.

"Alright, get in uniform, grab anything you may need for the day." Judy declared, making her way to her bedroom.

"Mine's out in the car, I'll be right back." Alex told her as she passed him, before walking to the front door. I grabbed my uniform from my pile of clothes and headed into the restroom. I took off my clothes and switched into uniform, ensuring I had all my equipment. I exited, Alex quickly taking my place, his uniform in his arms. Judy hopped out of her bedroom, looking more eager than ever.

"Alright Nick, once Alex gets out, we're heading out." She said confidently. I smiled, looking down at her.

"It's just a meeting with Bogo to discuss the situation, no need to get over enthusiastic." I said, gesturing with my paws to calm down. She just laughed, then went to the front door.

"Okay, whatever you say Nick, in fact, you should be more excited than I am." She said, opening the front door. "I'm gonna start the car, tell Alex we are waiting on him." She said, her head disappearing behind the now closed door.

"Hey Alex, we are..." I started, passing on the message.

"Waiting on me, I know, I'm ready." He intervened, opening the door a second later. He looked professional enough, but still had his 'I'm the funny guy', look. Hard to explain, let's just move on. We both left the house together, after Alex made sure to turn off the light in the kitchen. Alex and I climbed into the car, I took shotgun, forcing Alex to stay alone in the back.

"Alright, Nick, you and Alex will do most the talking, since you are both personally involved. Alex, you are going to come clean about your side of the situation, this will ultimately help all of us, since you can only tell Chief Bogo so much before he catches on anyways." Judy directed, laying out a general plan for our talk with him and some other officers. Alex dipped his head in unison with me, affirming Judy's words. I also needed to bring some form of information to the table, such as locations and names. The address the jaguar gave me, I could give them that. Speaking of which, what was the address again?

"Alex, what's the address they gave us again?" I asked, turning back only slightly. I could see Carrots roll her eyes on my side.

"I could barely hear the guy, how'd you for..." He trailed off, "No fair, you have a legitimate excuse." I adjusted in my seat-belt, and turned to face him.

"Legitimate excuse?" I laid out slowly, unsure of what he meant.

"Does 'Memory problems' not ring a bell?" He leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees. How convenient is that.

"I would try calling back, except he said he was using a pay phone." I deduced, "There goes our one chance at finding these pricks." I slammed on the dashboard. "I couldn't remember one damn thing!" I shouted, causing Judy to flinch slightly. She paused, then her eyes widened.

"Nick! You're not a genius!" She exclaimed, causing me to groan. "You said he was using a pay phone at what, like five in the morning!" She continued, catching both Alex's and my attention. "You said it yourself Alex, who uses pay phones anymore? Well, I'm sure Bogo would have no problem letting us check the traffic camera's to find our lucky caller." She concluded, making me face palm.

"How did I not think of that..." I sighed. Alex laughed, he was probably going to take advantage of my memory problems. I felt a lump in my chest as I looked at Judy, I was her favorite fox, and right behind us, her favorite wolf. I smiled, just taking in all my surroundings, Judy, Alex, and the beautiful darkness of Zootopia. Judy was so strong-willed, my mind trailed off, starring out the window. I heard a noise, faint, almost inaudible. The sound grew closer to me, I continued starring out the front window of the car.

"Nick..." I moved my ears around, trying to distinguish where the sound came from. The pain in my chest intensified, causing me to place a paw across it.

"NICK!" I heard, jolting me upwards, I turned to Judy, so slowly it made Flash look fast. The car moved slow, she moved her arm, her paw drifting through the air, until after what seemed like several seconds, collided with my sleeve. My eyes moved back to looking out the window. I started hyperventilating, as the pain grew larger. I felt a large, white paw grab my shoulder, Alex. The car quickly halted, breaking my slow-motion trance. I couldn't breath, and I dragged my paw against the car door, searching for the handle. As Judy tried to stop me from pushing the door open, Alex moved to open his. I fell to the concrete road outside, and felt sweat staining my fur. My mind full of perfidious thoughts, I could no longer tell the difference between Judy and Alex's voice as they shouted at me, their words drained out by the sound of my heartbeat. But after a few moments, I heard Judy's voice, soothing and quiet in my head, "Don't give up on me, Nick."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Yes I love cliffhangers, yes I'm an asshole. Also, longest chapter once again. That being said, hope you enjoyed this less dramatic chapter, with the exception of the ending. You've only seen a small portion of what Nick will experience due to his 'Situation'. Please leave a review, telling me about your thoughts, concerns, and ideas.**

 **Gotta love the foreshadowing about Nick's situation at the end, just hit ctrl+f, and search heart. Anyone catch the subtle reference to Breaking bad? Or the one to the movie Tommy boy? No? Okay.**

 **May crippling social anxiety be with you.**


	6. Chapter 6 - Invisible Pain

**Author's Note**

 **Thanks for the support, especially to those in the review section. Also, I wanted to set something straight, I've read other stories ,yes, and I've noticed that while writing these, it can sometimes be difficult to say certain phrases without using the words foot, person, or hand. For example, hand me the paper, or footsteps, because all the damn paw puns aren't very amusing to me, only a few. Because of this, I will use some of these sayings or words, but I will for sure avoid using person and people. Hope you enjoy this chapter, where the progression of the story arc picks up.**

* * *

 **Judy's POV**

I yelled at Nick as he clung to the street, but it was no use, he just lied there, as if he was barely conscious. Alex, on the other hand, grabbed Nick around the waist, picking him off the floor.

"What is wrong with him?!" I cried as Alex placed him in the backseat, trying to sit him up right.

"According to what I've seen so far, Nick is suffering from a detrimental lack of oxygen in his blood stream, his heart isn't proficient with the newly founded fundamentals of his body. This, including the substantial damage he's taken, bullet wounds, cuts, and major blood lose, is causing him to collapse into a state of both rest and pain. This may not be the same as an average heart attack, however it can be concluded that Nick is probably experiencing similar symptoms, not to mention..." Alex barked quickly as I got into the driver's seat, and he remained in the back with Nick.

"Alex, shut up, we need to get Nick to the hospital." I cut him off, my mind spinning from whatever the hell he was saying. I saw Alex put his arms up through the rear mirror, as if I was accusing him of something.

"Sorry, it's a bad habit. You know, I worked with some big brains, got to sound smart." He apologized, referring to the scientists who did this to Nick in the first place. "Also, no hospital. We not only will be late to our meeting, but we will also be putting Nick and ourselves in danger due to the possibility of someone dangerous still being at the hospital." Alex cautioned, holding Nick in a sitting position, drool coming out of his hanging jaw.

"Is Nick going to be okay?" I asked, trying my best to not sound overly attached. Alex chuckled, putting his paw under Nick's mouth.

"Of course I will Carrots." He said, moving Nick's jaw up and down. I growled, looking back at the road.

"That's not funny Alex, can you take this seriously?" I said, causing Alex to put his ears down.

"I'm sorry, and Nick will be fine, he should wake up here any minute, or at least I think." He explained, making me relax a little.

"Alex..." I heard a whisper, "Alex, come closer." Nick breathed, as if he was dying and or drunk. Alex leaned close to Nick's head, tilting his ear towards him. Nick slowly opened his mouth, instead of speaking, he leaned in and licked Alex's ear. Jumping back, Alex looked shocked. Nick chuckled softly as Alex let go of his opposing shoulder. He fell over sideways still laughing.

"Here I was thinking you had a thing for Judy." Alex teased, causing Nick to stop laughing.

"In your dreams, and Judy's..." Nick slurred. I blushed at that comment, but only a little. Alex tried to hold back his laughter since I got mad at him for turning Nick into a talking puppet a moment ago. "Maybe my dreams too, but in my dreams, Alex is there too, he's the camera man." Nick coughed, snorting afterwards. I slammed my head on the steering wheel, and then tried to snap Nick to reality.

"Nick, I swear, if you do not sit up and stop drooling in ten seconds, you aren't getting anything tonight, from me or Alex." I said sternly. Alex even looked a bit embarrassed at that. I looked in the rear mirror as Nick had trouble sitting up, but managed after a couple attempts. He then wiped the drool off his jaw and tried to look presentable.

"Oh this is disgusting," Nick said, sounding more like himself, except more irritated. "Where are we going where again?" He asked.

"We are going to our meeting at the ZPD to discuss your situation and the people behind it." Alex explained. Nick shook his head, sighing.

"Great, I look like crap." Nick said, looking down at himself. I smiled, he was right about that, but either way, still good looking. I mentally slapped myself for thinking that.

"Don't worry Nick, the ZPD already has the lowest of standards for you." Alex laughed, making Nick roll his eyes with a groan.

"Also, did I just have a heart attack?" Nick investigated, he was very serious compared to just a minute ago.

"Not exactly, but perhaps the experience you had could be comparable." Alex told him. I saw the ZPD in the distance. Here we go Judy, just the second biggest case you've had, which revolves around the attempted murder of your best friend, and them trying to use you as a 'super soldier', no big deal.

Pulling into the familiar parking lot, one I haven't seen in what seems like forever, we all three jumped out of the car. There was almost no cars here, only six including ours, since everyone else was due about an hour from now. We all treaded towards the bright, colorful building, and with the sun on the rise, it appeared even more amazing. Alex took the lead, pushing open the giant front doors.

"Judy?! Nick?! Welcome back!" Ben Clawhauser shouted with glee as we entered. "Didn't expect Nick back so soon!" Ben said, as he ate a doughnut. "Also Nick, remember, shower everyday." He warned. Nick groaned, but then calmed down with a smile.

"I did, but I had a little incident on the way here, we have an important meeting with Chief Bogo, so we can't stay and chat." He finished, before he started walking away.

"Don't mind him, he's hasn't been himself lately." I half lied. He was still the funny, charming fox I remember, but obviously alongside some recently founded problems.

"Yeah, let's just say Nick is quiet the victim." Alex scratched behind his head, looking away. He didn't want to explain it, and the same goes with me.

"Nice seeing you guys, better not be late to your meeting though." Ben said, motioning with his paws for us to get moving. I waved as we walked away, Alex gave a salute with two claws. We jogged to catch up with Nick, who was only moments away from entering the conference room. Nick pushed the doors open with both paws, standing as straight as he could. Alex and I followed shortly behind. A dozen eyes set on us, a pair in particular was Chief Bogo's.

"Good morning. Bogo, at least give me a welcome back smile." Nick charmed, acting like his normal self. Bogo grunted, exhaling through his nose.

"Nick, need I remind you how serious this is?" Bogo shot back, making Nick roll his eyes.

"I don't recall being serious being the same as looking like you're at your grandmother's funeral, besides, I'm the victim here, so lighten up." Bogo shot me an angry glare, but then he half smiled.

"Okay Nick, but the more serious you treat this the more serious I will." He concluded, Nick nodded his head slightly in return.

"Okay, so for starters, where did this all begin?" Asked an officer, a very tired tiger. I'm pretty sure he didn't volunteer to come in early. Alex jumped in with the details.

"It began awhile ago, actually. You see, the plan was to have Nick killed, but he survived the mall incident. The new plan was to give him an extremely modified poison like substance, which would most likely kill him. Judy here, would then be given a powerful alteration to her body, turning her into a super soldier. Since I knew about this, I switched the two poisons, giving Nick the ability to survive any gunshots he would receive on the way out." Alex explained as two officers armed with notepads tried to jot down everything he said. Bogo probably had the most amusing expression.

"Why would they want Judy to be a super soldier? She is on Nick's side! Also, how the hell did you know about this?" Bogo yelled, his officers flinching.

"Well you see, Judy doesn't give up, which is a key aspect in our genetic alterations." Alex began.

"Oh so it's your's now?" Bogo interrupted with a deep, raspy voice. Alex grew nervous, but he continued with my plan.

"Bogo, hear me out on this. I did, yes, play a role in the planning and design of this process, but I used that as an advantage to save Nick's life. Anyways, if Nick were to stop putting the effort and courage into survival, he would have collapsed, dead on the ground, Judy is small, persistent, and intelligent, making her the perfect fit for the role." Alex cleared up, he looked as if he had a gun to his head.

"Why would Nick need to die then in the first place? It makes no sense." Bogo dismissed. Was he accusing Alex of lying? I couldn't be sure.

"The only reason Judy doesn't like really dangerous cases is because she is afraid. Afraid that she will lose Nick, or Nick will lose her. Without Nick, he can't lose her and she can't lose him, because she already has." Alex sighed, "If you think I deserve a punishment, go ahead." He finished, putting his head down.

"Alex has done nothing but help Judy and I for the last week, and I don't plan on letting anyone change that." Nick said, looking Bogo in the eyes. It reminded me of the time when Nick talked down Bogo from forcing me to resign on the bridge.

"I didn't plan on it, Alex, I hope you're right about all of this. If you aren't, things could get ugly." Bogo warned, leaning forward in his chair.

"Alright, to find these bastards, we need to use the traffic cams, just so happens someone involved used a payphone to call me at five in the morning, I'm sure if we look deep enough we can find him." Nick half requested, half demanded.

"I guess that's all for now? Shorter than expected, but you are going to be busy, so go find those 'bastards'." Bogo instructed, standing up from the table. "Evans, Peterson, you two will be joining them, but not until they find what they need." He finished. Evans was the sleep deprived tiger, and Peterson was an elephant, so much for a stealth mission.

"Yes sir." They both said in unison. I took the lead, Nick and Alex following me out of the conference room. Since we had Bogo on our side, we could get direct access to the traffic cams here at the ZPD. We arrived at our desks, Nick's being right next to mine. Alex stood behind us as we sat down, considering his desk wasn't close by.

"You should have access to the cameras now." Said Evans as he passed us, probably heading to a desk of his own. I turned on my computer, Nick did the same.

"How will we know where to look?" Asked Alex as I opened up the video files necessary.

"Well, this jaguar is probably lying low, so we will search the outskirts of the Rain-forest District, and a few other regions just in case. Carrots, I'll start with the Rain-forest district, you start with Tundra Town." Nick directed.

We silently began searching through the traffic cams, Alex waited behind and watched, probably pondering what will happen when we find the mysterious jaguar. I began with Tundra Town, searching around the areas that most would consider 'quiet'. I found a pay phone, and turned back the clock to a quarter until five, the time of the call, to my disappointment, nothing showed up. I continued searching through the whole city, every street, starting at the outside. We would find him, no matter how long it took. I saw little to no one out and about, which sped up the process. A car every now and then, and garbage trucks, but no one at the pay phones. As I investigated further, already twenty minutes passed.

"What if the suspect lied to us?" Alex questioned. Nick looked up in confusion.

"Are you suggesting that he wasn't using a payphone?" He shot back, causing Alex to shrug his shoulders.

"Well, I mean, you used the traffic cams to solve another big case, and to say the least, these mammals aren't new to this kind of thing. They're smarter than you and Judy, no offense." Alex explained, Nick just chuckled, but I ignored it, focusing on our job. I did however, listen in.

"These are the same guys who shot me a dozen times, and still failed their mission of killing me. Not to mention, they failed to stop me from contacting Judy and discussing the whole thing with her." Nick laughed. Alex sighed, but didn't seem to want to back down.

"You survived those shots because of what they created, and they couldn't stop you, since the cops showed up." Alex objected, with a smug grin on his face. Nick held up a claw and opened his mouth to counter, but I jumped in.

"Alex, stop arguing, and Nick, focus on the mission, please." I said impatiently. Nick was quick to continue reviewing, and Alex just stood silent again. Nick let out a quiet and devious chuckle.

"Carrots, might want to take a look at this." Nick said slowly. I scooted my car over to his desk, starring at his screen with anticipation. The time and date listed on the top of the screen matched up as a car parked right next to a pay phone in the Rain-forest District. The door opened slowly, and a spotted mammal climbed out, only wearing jeans and a black tank top. Grabbing the phone, the jaguar put in two coins and starting typing away. The numbers he entered couldn't be made out, since it wasn't the highest of quality.

"That's him, has to be." Alex declared. Nick turned around slowly and gave him a serious look, squinting his eyes.

"Do you think so?" Nick said with a deep, sarcastic voice. Alex laughed, I leaned over Nick, adjusting the time of the surveillance up until the caller hung up and jumped back into the car.

"Can't wait, can you Judy?" Nick teased. I just ignored him, and followed the car across the Rain-forest District. For the next ten minutes, Nick and Alex made stupid jokes and teased me and themselves, and I wrote down the address of his stop in an alley, then his final destination, where he entered a house, presumably his own. I had to squint and bend forward to read the addresses, but I could just barely read them.

"Nick, you could take a bullet to the head, and still have the same amount of brain damage." Alex said, poking Nick in the head. He smacked his paw away, laughing.

"Maybe if some psycho didn't turn me into a freak." Nick countered, both of them hitting each other in the shoulder.

"While you two were busy being morons, I got everything we need." I stop, both of them dropping dead silent. "What are you waiting for? Let's go!" I yelled, and they jumped out of their chairs without hesitation. We marched around the precinct, gathering Peterson and Evans.

"Remember, me and Peterson are mostly just backup, you three, especially you two are smaller than us." Evans said, motioning to me and Nick.

"We don't have to be all professional, come on, first names, give em up." Nick said, snapping lightly. Evans rolled his eyes, but Peterson had no reaction.

"I am Daniel and this is Trace." Evans sighed, pointing to both himself and Peterson. We didn't already know their first names as we never worked with them on something, and I've only seen them a few times.

"Got an address for us?" Trace asked. I wrote down the same two addresses on another ripped piece of paper and handed it to him. He nodded, "Call us if you catch any trouble, we will be waiting nearby..." he trailed off, "Which address exactly?" I put a paw under my chin, wondering which to start with. The first was an alley, where the jaguar entered a awfully suspicious looking building, the second was a rather nice house closer to the center of the district.

"I say we go for the house first, if we can get the jaguar, we can use his help with the other place, which looks far more suspicious and hidden." I said, everyone seeming to be in agreement with me. Alex, Nick and I parted with Daniel and trace. We headed for our squad car, which was brought back by Alex after the mall setup. The three of us drove off, leaving the ZPD behind. We passed through the now awakening city, the density of cars and people had grown since we last saw it only over an hour ago.

 **Nick's POV**

Judy effortlessly drove us through traffic, and we crossed into the Rain-forest District. I readied myself for what awaited, Mr. Jaguar. She held the address in her right paw, steering with her left. Alex, sitting in the back once again, was just on his phone, probably texting. Judy halted the car abruptly, causing Alex and I to fall forward, lucky for me I put on my seat-belt this time, but as for Alex, not so lucky. Judy and I laughed as Alex barely stopped himself from falling between the two front seats.

"Well, this is it, well not it, but close." Carrots said, I looked at the surrounding environment. We were on a more grounded part of the city, where multiple houses were in close proximity, but the quiet, calm feeling of the rain-forest remained. As we exited, Alex sighed heavily.

"Jude, I didn't want to bring this up, but if you, Nick, or I are in danger, we may have to take an unsettling path." He started, easily grabbing both of our attention, "I brought a gun, alongside my tranquilizer, in case we can't handle things." Alex said, pulling back his ears. Judy nodded, and I did too.

"Follow me." Judy directed, and we stalked down the street behind her. Judy put an arm out to block us from moving any further, "There it is, that's the house." She said quietly, motioning to a standing out home, obviously Mr. Jaguar was paid pretty well.

"I say, since Nick is seemingly the luckiest mammal in the world, he takes back door alone, we take front." Alex planned out, Judy furrowed her eyebrows.

"Can't we all just stick together?" She asked. I chuckled, she wanted to stay with me.

"We could, but having Nick on the other side would prevent a cover shootout, or at least help." Alex told her, Judy seemed to understand, but on the inside she didn't want to leave my side. She agreed and we separated. I lurked around the side of the house, and approached the backdoor. All the windows were covered, so I couldn't peer inside. I heard a voice coming from inside, it was Mr. Jaguar.

"How could they have possibly tracked me? I was using a pay phone!" He said. Yeah, smarter than us, sure. "Traffic Cams? You're serious right? There is no way that they went through the entirety of Zootopia to find me." I held back laughter, as he was describing exactly what we did, except a bit exaggerated. I heard a crack, not very loud, but I'm pretty sure Alex and Judy were inside. "Shit, someone is here." He whispered from inside, I was concerned as to how I was able to hear him so clearly. I then heard the click of a gun. He was armed.

I wondered, what could I do? I could try to break the door down, but that would end with me probably getting shot, plus there is no way I could get in with one kick, considering the door was almost twice my height. Couldn't just wait here any longer, I had to get inside somehow. I then reached for the door handle, it was open.

I peeked inside very slowly, and saw the jaguar nowhere present. I crept through the elegant kitchen, marble counter tops, expensive fridge, it was quite the sight, but I had to focus. One thing is particular caught my eye, pictures. There were pictures of kids on the wall, no older than five. I whipped out my phone and texted Alex that this was a terrible idea, my breathing became shaky, I begged for them to not be home. Then a ringing came to my ears, but clearer this time, they were gunshots.

 **Judy's POV**

Alex kicked the front door open with a loud crack, and both of us quickly, but quietly lunged inside. As we moved through the beautiful home. We moved through what seemed like just a room to relax, there was a piano, a leather couch, and paintings distributed across the walls. Something tells me that jaguar doesn't live here, or he is making a fortune. We came across an arch that lead to an enormous living room, Alex took the right side of the arch, pressing his back against the faded green walls, while I took the left. I heard talking, someone on the phone, it was something about being tracked. Did he know we were here?

I heard footsteps approaching the arch. I peeked out so slightly, the majority of my vision was blocked my the arch still. I saw the jaguar, walking into his living room, revolver in hand. He stood in front of a large, dark wood coffee table, right next to a large leather couch. I think we could surprise him, since he didn't seem to know where we were. He definitely was expecting something though, since he looked around the room every couple seconds. Then I heard an obnoxious bing, an unnamed wolf's phone. My eyes widened as I looked at Alex scramble to turn his phone off. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the jaguar raise his gun in a split second and fire three rounds through the wall, right where Alex was.

Alex's body fell forward, landing him partially sticking out from behind the arch, his gun slid right in front of me. I was in this situation before, last time I almost gave up. I quickly swiped the gun from the jaguar's view, he took quick notice, and shot through the arch where I was located, I expected this, so jumped back further, three bullet missing. I heard him walking closer, each footstep sending a shake through my body.

 **Nick's POV**

I stalked around the house, searching for the jaguar who disappeared. I heard gunshots, three to be exact, my ears stung from the noise, even though they weren't nearby. I broke into a sprint look around the house. I eventually came across the living room, quick to stop myself from entering, since my dear friend Mr. Jaguar was holding a gun, and did not look happy. I peeked out again, and noted he wasn't looking in my general direction. I carefully maneuvered until I could see the whole room, I was less than six feet from his back, only angled about forty degrees. I saw a bunny paw grab the gun from the arch in front of him, then I covered my ears as he fired three more bullets. I quickly reached for my tranquilizer, but stopped myself. There was a balcony above the arch. Two little cubs sat quietly, watching from the darkness, their eyes reflecting the little light available. I tried to process my options, then I heard a yell. Judy dove from her position behind the arch, tranquilizer in hand. I could have done it myself, she was going to get herself killed. I realized something important. Judy wasn't holding a tranquilizer, she had a gun, Alex's gun. The jaguar clicked his gun once, twice, but nothing happened.

Time seemed to freeze as I freely thought, why couldn't she just have stuck with the tranquilizer? I saw Alex's body now, just barely sticking out from the arch from my perspective. I knew why she was using a gun. She wanted him dead.

"NOOO!" I screamed, tackling the jaguar as Judy blasted the firearm. The jaguar's face was one of extreme surprise as he looked up at me, knelt above him. That face quickly turned to anger, and he pushed me off. He had dropped his gun on the fall, but it was empty anyways. "JUDY DROP THE GUN!" I yelled as the jaguar stood up, my body still on the floor. He just stared, confused about my words, he raised an eyebrow. I secretly motioned with my paw on my side, making it only visible to the jaguar, to look upwards. He looked up at the ceiling, but quickly noticed the two little cubs on the balcony. Judy fired the gun, the ringing took over my ears once again, as the jaguar fell to the ground. I heard one of the cubs scream, the other started weeping. I let my head fall back to the floor, just staring at the ceiling, all the sounds drained out by my brain. I saw the jaguar standing over me, except he was wearing his combat uniform. He gave a devious smile and said "You know, you aren't invincible my friend."

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Once again, longest chapter (Tears of Joy). I kind of want to guide a bit more as to how Judy took ten years to shoot the jaguar. Judy wasn't slow, Nick was processing everything almost instantly. I actually feel bad for the jaguar, who will yes have a name by next chapter. Also, Peterson and Evans weren't in the fight scene because there was a problem (No spoilers). What do you guys think? Leave a review, and of course, wait in anticipation for the next chapter.**


	7. Chapter 7 - Persuasion

**Author's Note**

 **Sound the alarm, romance incoming! Not much, but still. Anyways, this chapter revolves around Nick and Ivan mostly, and Nick's inability to do the right** **thing, unlike last time.**

* * *

 **Nick's POV**

I was bewildered about the recent events that had occurred all in a fragment of time. Judy heard the crying, and it hurt her, I could tell. She hesitantly dropped the pistol, still smoking, on the hardwood floor with a loud thud. She seemed to have pushed her guilt aside, and fell to her knees to aid Alex, I did the same, but instead turning to the jaguar. He was still definitely conscious, as he was only shot once, but based on where was what worried me. The bullet went almost straight into the middle of chest, just barely to the right. I noticed no blood, none at all.

"I'm a certified Kevlar officer." He chuckled. I instantly squinted my eyes, wondering how he knew about that. "Alex told me about it." He followed up, as if he was reading my mind. "I'm okay!" He shouted, making me flinch. I heard the now quieter crying of his children come to a halt, and they swayed away from the balcony. "My apologizes, my name is Ivan." He expressed with a hand over his chest as I turned my attention towards the grounded jaguar. "I have a theory, Nick. You saved my life because you don't want to change." He analyzed. I gave him a puzzled look, staying silent, so he continued. "The serum we gave to you, you don't want it to change who you are." He sat up further leaning closer to me. I was tempted to push him down, considering this guy tried to kill me just a couple days ago, but I couldn't. I noticed his supposed children running into the living room. I stood up from my knelt position to make room for them. Ivan took them both into a hug.

"Thank you." One of the cubs said looking up at me. That made me feel better, knowing I helped someone. The two of them got off their father and backed up, letting him resume our conversation.

"You don't want to change because of Judy, because of how it would hurt her." Ivan theorized, however, he was right. "Also, might want to take that bullet out." He warned, pointing to my side. I put my chin down against my chest, finding said bullet wound. Judy's first shot had hit me, and I couldn't recall such events.

"Alex!" I heard Judy yell in excitement, turning my head to see her hugging the now sitting up wolf. That made me smile for the first time since entering this damn house. Alex would probably need some form of medical attention, but I was more focused on what would happen when we got to the second address Judy had received for us, which was none other than the creepy, old, dirty, rather large building on the edge of the Rain-forest District. I felt a paw grab my shoulder SMACK! I was quick to knock it off, turning to face Ivan, who wasn't phased by my actions.

"You love her don't you?" I was perplexed by the question, surely he wasn't suggesting what I thought he was, was he?

"What?" Was all I could muster, still challenging the fact that Ivan could be friendly with me.

"You heard me." He laughed quietly. "Be quick to answer the question, or else you'll miss your shot." He explained, looking at Judy on the other side of the room as he spoke. I kept a, for the most part, blank expression, staring into Ivan's eyes, hoping to see something. Something that could help me understand him better. "Nicholas, you were injected with years of research and millions of dollars, you're the world's most resilient mammal, yet also so fragile." He paused a moment, reading my face. "Like your body once was, just as your mind, fragile. Judy could wake up and find you dead tomorrow, and there would be no explanation, your heart could just give up. Or if you prefer the more intense route, the brain in your head could stop processing emotions properly, possibly take one word wrong and injure someone. Which is why you need my help, you can't throw me in prison." He concluded. I growled as I thought about what he said. I caught myself and instead kept a genuine idle appearance.

"You're right, but you must remember," I said grabbing his shirt and pulling him close. "I don't give up." I released my grip and he fell back just slightly.

"Giving up is like an excuse, it sounds better in your head." He joked, even though I could sense some seriousness to his voice.

"Mr. Jaguar! You are under arrest." I heard Judy state professionally, regardless of the nickname she used.

"Judy Hopps if I'm correct, you can just call me Ivan." He corrected her, placing a paw on his chest.

"Judy, we can take him in for questioning, but no serving time." I sided with Ivan, as he seems to know more about the situation, even more so than Alex. "He can help us." I threw in without much context. She would understand what I meant. Checking to make sure Ivan's kids weren't looking, I began investigating my wounded side. I was bleeding, but not as much as I would have imagined.

"Hate to rain on your parade, but I've been shot, but hey! Three times a charm." I turned to see Alex leaning against the wall, holding up three claws.

"Let's take Alex to the hospital before he decides to die on us." Judy sighed, returning to the arch where Alex was.

"You take him, I'll wait here with Ivan." I offered. Judy turned back to face me, her look was filled with caution.

"Alone?" I sighed, knowing she wouldn't let that happen. I'm pretty sure some humor would sway her.

"No of course not, I said I'd be with Ivan, not to mention his two adorable cubs." I smiled as Judy rolled her eyes. She then proceeded to help Alex to his feet, and the two limped to the front door.

"Kids, go upstairs please, your father has some particular subjects to disclose with this fox here, the savior of myself." I furrowed my eyebrows at his words, his kids most likely didn't even understand the full of what he said. Ivan's children ran through the arch and back upstairs, presumably to their bedrooms. Ivan jumped to his feet with a sigh.

"Nicholas, any subject that is off limits? Because if not, I may just rant about anything at this point." He said, a deceptive smile upon his face. Was this a trick question?

"Not that I can think of." I replied, following him down the luxurious hallway, filled with what seemed to be expensive paintings.

"Well then I guess I'll start with Judy." He walked into the kitchen, heading for the fridge. I should have said Judy was off limits, but he'd probably bring it up anyways. "Tell me about her, who is she." He continued. I thought about the question; it's meaning was rather clear.

"Judy is very optimistic, or at least when I'm not dying." Ivan silently nodded his head as he dug into the fridge, the cold air slamming into me. "She is intelligent, and likes to challenge society, hence her being a cop in the first place." I paused, thinking of what else to say, Ivan pulled out a bottle, full of alcohol. "She fun to hang out with: nice, humorous, and helpful." I was going to continue, seeing as Ivan didn't respond right away, but apparently he was taking his time.

"How close friends are the two of you?" He asked, opening the bottle and pouring some in two glasses.

"Best friends." I responded, keeping it short. Ivan could be trying to just gather information.

"Ever thought about, anything more?" His back facing me as he spoke, but his head angled so I could just barely see his left eye. I started feeling strange on the inside.

"I guess, but anyways, can I add something to that 'off limits' list?" I asked with a obvious fake smile. Ivan shook his head slowly.

"Nick, fairly simplified scenario to better understand one's true thoughts. If Judy were to die tomorrow, what would you tell her?" He said, handing me a glass. Both glasses have contents from one bottle, so that means it's safe.

"I would, umm..." I trailed off, not knowing how to answer the simple, but also complex question. "I would tell her that she is my closest friend, and I couldn't live without her." I felt confident in the answer, but Ivan's expression told me that would change.

"You wouldn't use the word love? It's quiet a heavy word, but you must consider it's use." He told me, leaning over the island in the middle of the kitchen. He then took a sophisticated drink from his glass.

"The word love can used in different ways, but I don't see why I wouldn't." I replied, and taking a drink in unison with the jaguar. He stayed silent for a while, which I didn't dare interrupt, as I was already feeling strange enough. After a couple minutes passed, both our drinks were gone, and he placed both glasses near the sink.

"Can I show you a few things?" He said, saying things with a different tone. I squinted my eyes a bit before replying.

"I don't see why not." We walked out of the kitchen and he led me to a room; a room that seemed to be more of just a relaxing space. There was a piano, paintings, and a lether couch. The piano was quite a sight, it looked old, but so in place.

"You like the piano, you think it's very antique, yet so lively." Ivan said with a sly smile. His dialect just confused more every time he spoke. I tried to ignore the fact, and instead looked around the room a bit more. There was a picture of him with his children, no wife. I slowly made my way closer to the picture, only to realize it wasn't a picture, but a painting. "A friend painted it for me." He answered without question. "Do you 'love' it?" I exhaled at his recall to the previous conversation.

"Yes I do, it's amazing, maybe I could meet this painter one day." I followed up, standing within reach of the painting, taking in all the detail.

"You use the word love so lightly for almost anything, everyone does; when it comes to mammals, not so much." Ivan explained, now standing right behind me. "Remember Nick, giving up is like an excuse, it sounds better in your head." He repeated the somewhat cheesy phrase from earlier. He put a paw on shoulder once again, but this time I didn't even flinch, and I didn't know why. "Want another drink?" He interrupted my thinking.

"No thanks." I said, sure that if Judy came back and I was drinking she'd kill me.

 **Judy's POV**

I drove our squad car down the street, swerving through traffic and skipping through red lights. I occasionally looked at Alex, who was sitting in the passenger seat, one arm over his chest. "Do you know Ivan?" I asked, I've been wanting to know how much Alex truly knew him since we got that phone call, but never asked.

"I do. Ivan is a mentalist, deceptive and prowling. He is quiet the fellow though, I hung out with him a bit after 'work'." The wolf said, emphasizing his occupation. No one would want to be drunk around him. A mentalist being someone who can 'read minds'.

"Luckily Nick isn't stupid, and probably has Ivan in handcuffs right now, for safety reasons of course." I said, knowing Nick didn't want to throw him in prison. Alex just chuckled a bit, remaining calm, regardless that he's been shot three times. Luckily, the wall did a good job at reducing the impact. Sadly, Ivan's vest wasn't enough to stop them completely, and because he was shot in the back, I'm glad it didn't do something like paralyze him.

"Nick, you bastard." I could hear the joking manner in his voice as he looked at his phone. "Where will you be when Nick texts you. You will be hiding from a crazy jaguar with a gun." He continued, putting his phone away.

"Nick did that?! Why?" I asked, trying to remain calm. Alex just used a flick of his paw to gesture it wasn't a big deal.

"He was telling me that kids were possibly in the house. How right he was." He sighed. It was nice of Nick to look out for those cubs at least. Wait a second, that's why he tackled Ivan, because his kids were in the house. My stomach started tightening as I tried to stop myself from tearing up. I almost murdered a father, one who was defenseless. I shot him anyways, after Nick went through the trouble of saving him.

*Time skips along the sidewalk, not a care in the world*

I dropped Alex off at the hospital, a different one than where Nick was, to ensure his safety. I then drove back to Ivan's house. I knocked on the door, no response. I rang the doorbell, once again, no response. I then rolled my eyes remembering Alex broke the front door. I simply turned the doorknob and peered into the dark, open house. As I lurked around, cautious about what could have happened while I was gone, I heard laughter. I followed the source of the sound, trying to find the origin. I came across a set of stairs downward, where the sound was most prominent. I quietly, and slowly, made my way down them, making sure to not make a single noise. As I neared the bottom, I heard uncontrollable laughter, making me even more puzzled than before.

I peeked around the corner of the doorway at the bottom, which was only cracked. I saw Nick sitting on a couch, next to Ivan. Both of them were doing the opposite of holding back their laughter. There was a pool table in front of them, littered with bottles and glasses.

"Nick my man, you are funny." Ivan said, obviously drunk out of his mind. "If I had cash on me right now, I'd give you some." He said before wheezing.

"Judy would love that." Nick slurred, getting another laugh from Ivan. "She also loves when I buy her things, even if it's only a coffee." I sighed quietly at the two as they shared pointless information with one another.

"You have to tell her, Nick, you can't wait." Ivan warned, trying to be serious, but he couldn't stop himself from sounding like a moron. Wait to tell me what?

"Ivan, dude, you got to tell me how you talked me into drinking so much, because Judy always says no to it." Nick choked, becoming less understandable at the end, as he was wheezing. I've never seen Nick drunk like this, sure a little bit, but this was down right pathetic. Nick reached for the bottle on the table, but Ivan grabbed his arm.

"No more, Judy could get her any second for all we know, not to mention, you already have enough health problems." Ivan said, sounding more serious. "With your intellect, I'm perplexed as to how I got you to agree to this in the first place." Ivan's brain seemed to be returning to him, at least I hoped.

"Just one more swing, that's all." Nick said, trying to release Ivan's grip on his arm. Ivan was a criminal, why is Nick letting Ivan touch him?

"I would agree, but your appearance at the current moment is far from professional, you are technically on duty." Ivan responded, releasing Nick's arm. Knowing Nick, he'd probably smooth talk his way back into a drink, but he didn't. He just sat silently.

"Ivan." Nick said, grabbing his attention, "Remember how I told you about the first time I met Judy earlier? He asked, receiving a nod from Ivan. "I went from despise her, to loving her." He said, sounding confused. Ivan just let out a small laugh in return. "We were opposites, and we kind of still are, but somehow we managed to be so close. What if she says no?" Nick asked. I felt my heartbeat increase, I knew what he was talking about.

"If she says no, she will probably never speak to you again, and she would probably hate you for it." Ivan speculated. I readied myself to confront him, "I'm joking, she is an understanding friend, from what you've told me, she would probably say yes, but in the case of her saying no, she would let you down easy and just try to remain close friends." I clenched my fists, wanting to scold Nick for talking about me in the first place.

"Let's head upstairs, I want you to properly introduce your children." Nick said seriously, both of them standing up. I panicked, I couldn't run up the stairs as they would hear me, and if I moved slowly they would see me.

"No thanks, you'll probably tell them your life story, and they wouldn't understand half of it due to not being sober." Ivan teased. I quickly, but quietly, tried to move up the stairs as they neared.

"Wait, help me bring up the glasses." Ivan interrupted, ceasing movement. I sighed and slowed my ascend up the stairs. I heard the clanking of bottles and glasses as I made my way back into the living room. I stalked my way back to the front door, and gently opened it. I closed it behind me and acted as if I had just arrived. I rang the doorbell once, then twice.

"There you are! About time you show up." Nick greeted as he opened the door. I faked a smile and walked inside, brushing past Nick as I stalked towards the living room. "Say Carrots, how about you and I stay here for a bit longer." He burped. I stopped in place and turned to him.

"How could you be drinking at a time like this?" I asked quietly, but with distinct anger. Nick rubbed his forehead, probably trying to turn his brain back on.

"I don't know, Ivan talked me into it, but we had fun." He explained simply, not changing my expression.

"Ivan tried to murder you, twice!" I exclaimed, loud enough that Ivan could probably hear it. Nick sighed, crossing his arms.

"Ivan has children, whom are in the house right now." He breathed, attempting to keep the peace. I wasn't ready for that just yet.

"Alex told me himself, Ivan is a mentalist." I said, trying my hardest to stay quiet. Nick raised an eyebrow.

"A what?" He asked, I rolled my eyes.

"A mentalist." I responded, ready to go find Ivan.

"No, I mean what's a mentalist." I ran both paws down the sides of my face at his response.

"A mentalist is someone who uses tricks to read your mind, and we are talking about a criminal in this case." I concluded with an angry glare, Nick seemed to understand what I said, but at the same time didn't see it as a big deal.

"I'm sorry." Nick said as we talked together down the hall, and into the living room once again. No way I was going to lighten up: Ivan easily got to Nick, and I wasn't going to let it happen again. He continued walking once we reached the living room. Without a word I followed. "Ivan, Judy is back!" He shouted loud enough for anyone in the house to hear. We both were silent as we entered the kitchen, still no sign of the jaguar.

"Nick, I swear, if Ivan is missing, I am going to hurt you." I said half joking half extreme anger. We may have lost our one biggest lead. Nick and I searched through the whole house and found nothing, not even Ivan's cubs. We returned to the front door and Nick stood there, paws behind his back, a look of shame on his face.

"Well, looks like I'm getting hurt." Nick said slowly, scanning my face, probably hoping for a smile. I punched him in the arm, only hard enough to get a reaction. "Ouch." He chuckled.

"You lost a prime suspect in a major case and were drinking with said suspect." I gritted my teeth, wanting him to see the true consequence of his actions. Chief Bogo wouldn't take it lightly.

"Okay, well at least we can check out the first stop he made, we just have to..." He came to a halt, looking nervous. "Tell Daniel and trace." He finished slowly. I realized his point, and opened the front door. As we left, Nick texted the number Evans gave him. He sighed heavily as we entered out squad car not far down the street. "No response so far." He said with a high tone to his voice.

"His phone is probably just dead or something." I said lightly, starting the engine. Nick gently grabbed my arm and pulled it away from the ignition.

"Judy, I want to talk about what I said at Ivan's." He heaved, I could tell how nervous he sounded.

"What did you say?" I played dumb, as if I wasn't eavesdropping on them.

"I know you were listening to us; I heard you on the stairs." He explained. I guess I wasn't as quiet as I thought. My heart started racing, I didn't want to do this, not now. Especially on duty with a prime suspect on the run. He just stared at me for several seconds. "I wanted to say how much I appreciate your friendship." He started with a small smile. "I realized love is such a meaningful word, but Ivan made me realize how little mammals like myself use it." Nick said. I watched his facial movement for every second of it. His eyelids half closed, his eyebrows raised, and his lips moving smoothly. He was trying to be persuasive. "Judy, I love you." He finished, bringing his eyelids up. I felt like a rock was stuck in my throat, and it hurt. I remained silent for what seemed like a whole minute.

 **Nick's POV**

Ivan stood next to the piano with me, his gaze resting on only it. "This piano is older than the both of us combined." He said with a sigh. "My great grandfather crafted it himself when he was barely twenty. It's current residence, this very spot, is were he built it." He turned toward me slightly as he softly spoke about the antique wood work.

"He lived here?" I asked, being overtaken by Ivan's words. He ran his paw along the keys gently, not making a sound.

"My great grandfather was a servant, almost that of a slave." I ran a paw along the wood along with Ivan as he enveloped me, my subconscious telling me not to listen. "After building this piano, here in a home not his, his master, a fox, who underpaid him without any shame, asked to keep it. Now of course this asking wasn't so much asking as it was requesting, not taking no for an answer. Anyways, he married his master's daughter, who he managed to sway into his love. This master wasn't pleased, but let his daughter marry as she chooses." I just stared up at the day dreaming Ivan, who may even be thinking he is in that very moment right now. "My great grandfather then waited. After only a decade, his master died of multiple bullet wounds. He celebrated secretly in the night, drinking to his victory while his now wife cried in her bed. He now owned the home, the piano, and the fortune, along side his new wife. Less than a month later she committed suicide. In just a month he had gotten everything he even wanted, not the piano, but a loving wife. He married her for the purpose of getting his master's fortunes, and it was then he realized that he didn't love the piano, he loved her." Ivan bestowed to me.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked carefully, not wanting to offend him.

"He realized how much he truly loved someone, but it was too late. Her importance to him was there, but merely a shadow for something else." His words puzzled me, as I wasn't used to being exposed to such concepts and lessons.

"Nick, I would love to tell you a bit more about my heritage, and perhaps more along side it. Would you like another drink?" He asked, his words flowing past my will.

"Sure." I said simply, eager to hear more. Ivan smiled in return, then walked towards the kitchen.

"Well let's get going. I have a pool table downstairs you might want to check out." He charmed. I just happily followed along, not a care in the world.

Jude... I want to tell you something...

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Ivan, you sneaky bastard. He will be back shortly. What will Judy's reaction be to Nick? Good question, but what's even a better question is why the hell Ivan's pool table is right in front of his couch. Joking aside, I took my time with this chapter because I wanted to truly capture dialogue, not wanting it to sound illegitimate. Please send a PM or post a review with thoughts, concerns, or general criticism, no seriously, do it, I want more. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stay tuned for the next one.**


	8. Chapter 8 - Mixed Signals

Author's Note

Sorry about the devastating seven day wait, only to see a short chapter. This chapter has Alex's POV in it though, so that's a start!

Nick's POV

"Judy, I love you." As those words left my mouth I instantly regretted it. The look of Judy's face was one of confusion, shock, and at the same time, happiness? She looked so happy to hear me say something like that, but also so upset, and I didn't know why. After what seemed like a whole minute of silence, she started the car. Should I say something? Or should I just wait for her? I decided to keep quiet as we drove along the road towards the central of Zootopia. I received a phone call only a couple minutes in, it was the ZPD.

"Nicholas Wilde, I'm sorry to inform you that Daniel Evans and Trace Peterson were ambushed during their recent mission, which you were apart of." Chief Bogo said. I looked down as he spoke, not sure what to think. "Peterson was killed. However, Evans survived with somewhat minor injuries." He finished. Where could an ambush have happened that we couldn't hear it? Maybe on the way here. Judy glanced over at me while I listened to Bogo, with her hearing, I wouldn't be surprised if she knew everything he said. Bogo hung up and I slowly put my phone back into my pocket. We neared a familiar street, it was my street. Judy stopped the car in front of my home.

"Nick, I'm sorry, I just need time to think." She said, resting her arms on the steering wheel. I opened the car door, stopping halfway through climbing out.

"It's okay, Carrots, you have all the time you need." I said hesitantly before swaying towards my front door. I closed my eyes as I walked, knowing she just needed time to think of a way to say no. I shook my head lightly, thinking about what Ivan said. She was understanding, no way she would say no, right? I searched my pockets for my key, which was in the same pocket as my wallet, and several little slips of paper with addresses, notes, and other bits of information. I turned the freezing knob and pushed into the house. I felt tired, just like everyday as of recent. I dragged myself into the kitchen and grabbed a box of cereal. The milk was cold enough to keep my awake for awhile longer. The clock had just struck nine. It was nine in the morning. I also took from the fridge a container of blueberries, two slices of left over pizza, and two bottles of water. I ate the blueberries, my favorite, first. I then salvaged the remains of the pizza that was over a week old; I felt ashamed. I downed the bottles of water in less than two minutes, not a single drop survived. I double checked the transparent container of blueberries, only to realize there was none left.

Once upstairs, I collapsed on my bed, only thinking about one thing, Judy. I quickly fell into the arms of sleep; I wasn't fighting back any longer.

Alex's POV

I was lying on hospital bed: large and comfy. It was designed to be appropriate for mammals of many sizes, ranging from bunnies to bears. I'm sure ones that exceed in size are also available for animals of even greater statures. A particular bunny was present at my bedside, Judy. She had just told me a moment ago that she had to hurry back to Ivan's residence. Without another word she turned to leave; I stopped her with a stretched out arm.

"Wait." I said swiftly, trying to stall the inevitable feeling of being alone. She turned with a look of worry. "Jude, I want to tell you something." I mustered; sitting up more so than before. "I know emotions have played quite the role recently, in a bad way of course. I wanted to tell you that when this whole thing dies down; I wouldn't mind being closer." I mentally slapped myself for thinking I sound stupid.

"Ummm." Judy said while looking down at her foot, which was shuffling around in circles on the floor's tiles.

"I'm sorry; I was just speaking my mind." I tried to backup as I didn't want her to be too nervous. "I'm a wolf and your a bunny: doesn't make sense!" I said, closing my eyes with a laugh. I gasped softly as Judy hugged me, jumping up from the floor.

"Ok." Judy said quietly before dropping back to the floor. Before my shocked self could react, she hastily left the room. What does that mean? All she expressed was one word, did it mean yes? I couldn't tell, so I just laid back in bed and stared at the ceiling. After a couple minutes passed, a knock arrived at the door, startling me. I paused for a brief moment, pondering if it was Judy or not.

"Come in." I exclaimed, resulting in the door creaking open. A familiar jaguar entered the room, a polar bear right behind him. My heart began racing, Ivan surely wasn't too fond of our most recent engagement.

"Alex, you know as much as I do that screaming will only result in an unnecessary fatality." Ivan said quietly as he approached my bed. I sat up so straight I was bent backwards slightly, my muzzle gave into natural instinct, revealing my teeth in a growl.

"Don't hurt Judy." I said, showing hints of anger, but also sorrow. I released my grasp on the tough act, and slouched forward as Ivan took one side of the bed, the bear the other. The bear's name was Michael. His emotions were like rocks: cold and hard.

"Don't worry, we require her no more. Nick is the special snowflake, after all." Ivan said slowly, wanting me to carefully analyze his words. I wanted to counter with an argument, but saw no use as his participation is completely voluntary; my well being was in his paws. "We will be taking you home, Alex." By home he actually means some base of operations where I'll probably be interrogated for betraying them. Without a problem, Ivan and Michael had me stand up and leave the room. No one questioned our presence, as I was wearing my police uniform, and they were dressed as civilians. Ivan took my tranq, my phone, and a couple other gadgets I could use against him.

We left the rain-forest district hospital in a black van, with tinted glass, making it almost impossible to see who was inside. Ivan directed the vehicle while Michael and I sat in the back. I carefully inspected the environment of both the car and outside world. Every street, every turn, every landmark. Eventually we left the rain-forest district, I felt sick to my stomach as we left behind Zootopia in general, just a drive through the fields of the wilderness. In my brain, I retraced our steps dozens of times, even though I knew my way around Zootopia anyways.

An entire hour of silence passed: not a word exchanged, no radio, nothing. The van slowed to a stop in front of a warehouse, a large dirt parking lot around it. Ivan was the first to exit, leaving me alone with the soulless bear. It wasn't until a minute later that he returned with the one and only, Dr. Harris. Michael opened his door and climbed out, and motioned for me to join him.

"Welcome Alex, long time no see." Dr. Harris said, his hands intertwined behind his back. The wind caused his fur to sway to the left. The surrounding fields of grass following along. "You know why you are here, I assume." He said, turning his back on me, Ivan, and Michael, who were on either side of me. "I trusted you deeply I must say, you could have had everything you've ever wanted. You threw it all away for a bunny." He finished, shame in his voice.

"I was doing the right thing." I said with a pointing finger, stepping forward. Ivan put a paw gently on my chest, indicating for me to back up.

"Don't you worry, wolf, we already have a few new designs in the works. Maybe a week from now another soldier walks the fields. No terrible side effects: faster, smarter, and stronger." He said with a small chuckle at the end. "Nicholas Wilde is no soldier, Alex, his limits will be half that of what's to come." He concluded, walking back towards the warehouse. I heard the cock of a gun from behind, a growl was forming in my throat. I dove forward towards the ground, using my back paws to kick the gun upwards, my front paws slamming into the dirt. I quickly reversed myself, elbowing Michael in the stomach, causing him to back up a couple steps. I slid into a jump, my paw colliding with his jaw, releasing a thundering crack. I spun around as the ground shook behind me, Michael down for the count. Ivan was quick to back away, with my tranquilizer drawn. I let both my legs buckle, grabbing Michael's pistol. Using my understanding of the average reaction time of most mammals; I sprung upwards, lifting both paws off the ground. Ivan's dart flew under me, striking the dirt.

"Before you kill me, remember, Judy " Ivan stopped, four consecutive bullets halting his threat. He collapsed. His body lie motionless on the floor, I slowly approached him, I had to ensure he wasn't wearing a vest like before. I dropped the gun a few feet from his legs, and bent over the corpse. His blue and green plaid button-up was slowly immersing itself in Ivan's blood. I recovered the van keys from Ivan's pocket, and turned to the warehouse. I contemplated my actions precisely; Dr. Harris is too smart to leave himself alone and vulnerable. I dashed for the van, throwing the door open. I turned the keys as the warehouse door opened. Two identical rhinos exited, wielding sizable assault rifles. I backed out of the surrounding dirt parking lot into the street as an array of bullets were flung against the vehicle, not a single one stood a chance against what appeared to be an armored car. I sped off as the bullets ceased; the rhinos probably realizing it was getting them no where.

Author's Note

I'm sorry about this chapter being so short; I've been busy as of recent, as this week was my birthday. Also, Alex's first time having his own point of view, horray! Hopefully you enjoyed the chapter anyways, don't forget to offer your thoughts, criticism, and advice.


	9. Chapter 9 - Dripping Sorrow

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, I've been crucially planning these chapters as of recent, and I spend long periods of time just thinking about what should happen. This chapter is pretty brutal, so stay tuned.

Judy's POV

Sitting alone on my couch, I watched the blank television screen. I wished to bury myself in a pillow and scream; but I refused to let myself do so. I grasped the remote in hopes of reviving my spirit. I turned the television on and changed to the news. I used it as background noise as I reached for my phone on the coffee table. Sent Nick a text about what happened earlier, and how much I wanted to make up for it. The text also hinted at going out to eat later. My ears straighted from what they heard, the news was talking about the forest-district's Ivan situation. Nick's picture appeared, receiving a gasp. He was taken into custody for questioning. Flinging off the couch, I ran towards the front door. My car screeched as I backed out of the driveway and into the street.

Nick's POV

"Let go of me! I can walk on my own!" I repelled, yanking my arms away from the two suited mammals on my sides, both being were much larger than myself. The three of us were walking down a long corridor filled with agents, dressed head to claw in black and white suits. "Hey wise guy, mind telling me what the hell is going on?" I asked, pearing up at the agent on my left. He seemed ticked off, but ignored my question. "With the job you have, you'd think intelligence would be something they'd look for." This time, he looked genuinly angry.

"Look, fox, you either keep quiet, or I keep you quiet." He responded with a deep, but clear, voice. I snorted in return; the door in front of us opened suddenly. They urged me to enter by pushing on my back, I obeyed, leaving both agents behind. The doors closed, two agents taking my side once again. To my surprise, a fox wearing a black suit occupied the fancy chair on the other side of the room, a wooden desk in front of it. He placed a clipboard down on the desk, and clicked a pen he retrieved from his shirt pocket.

"Nicholas P. Wilde, please take a seat." He said politely. Doing as asked, I walked across the dark, wooden floor, then slowly lowered myself into the rather confortable seat. "You're probably questioning the reason behind bringing you here, so I will explain. He started, leaning forward from his relaxed pose. "Your presense is due to Dr. Harris's recent adaptations to modern science." He said, seeming to compliment the panda. "Feel free to give me the effects of Dr. Harris's serum. If you refuse, we can not help you." My mind told me to just ask to leave, and go on with my life, but a part of me wanted all the help I could get.

"Okay." My words lifted the fox from his clipboard, now ready to listen. "I can heal from a bullet wound in anytime from a minute to a day; I know it's not engraved it stone, but I'm doing my best here. Pain seems to be reduced, but not much. I sometimes have problems thinking properly, and I eat and sleep a lot more." I explained using my paws for emphasise. The fox across from me put on a pair of glasses and began jotting things down with the clipboard angled so I couldn't see it.

"The news said you were taken into custody, can you beleive it?" He said in a joking manner.

"I was, wasn't I?" I accused. The fox didn't take a defensive glare, but more of a 'are you serious' one.

"You aren't in any trouble, we just told them that's the case." He said, breaking eye contact and returning to his clipboard. "Besides, if we wanted you in prison, you definitely wouldn't be speaking to me." He stood up as he continued our conversation. "We are contacting your friends Judy and Alex, both of which will hopefully meet us here to further discuss the topic." I sighed at that idea due to my latest department with her.

Alex's POV

The wheels spun feriously as the van sped down the street, I held tightly onto the steering wheel. Turning my head to the left, I saw an identical van as my own pulling up. Another one took the right side, tackling my confidence. Both windows slowly decended, the driver on the right revealed an SMG, and the passenger on the left whipped out a glock. Both guns opened fire, the windows took only a few bullets before I slammed on the brakes; luckily these windows seemed somewhat bullet resistant. Both vans slide to a halt a few seconds later, I heard a scolding about shooting at each other, then two mammals climbing out of each. They weren't much bigger than me, one smaller, but they were wearing helmets, visors, vests, and suits, so identifying them from a distance was impossible.

They all stood in front of their vans, guns drawn, awaiting my surrender. I sat in thought for a few moments, before one of them spoke up.

"Get out of the van!" He paused for a response, "Now!" he demanded. I slowly opened the door and slide out of the van, and began walking towards them. One mammal in particular removed his helmet, it was a fox. He lowered hiw AK47 and met me halfway there. Quicker than I could react he swung the gun at me, slamming me across the face. I fell to the floor with a yelp, readying myself for another hit. I waited a few seconds then lowered my paw, his frown turned to a smile.

"Well, best get you back to the warehouse!" He said with an exetremely audable southern accent. He quickly yanked up an AK47 and slammed the stock into my snout; I was out cold.

I slowly awakened from my unwarrented sleep; upon realizing this, I yanked myself upwards as if I just awoke from a nightmare. My immediate surroundings were nothing but a dark concrete room, one lightbulb hung on the concrete ceiling, but it wasn't on. The floor was cold, and felt almost wet. I was stripped of all clothing except for some black athletic shorts. The storming feeling of hunger made me grope my stomach; I must have been out for a while. I heard a faint buzzing noise and looked up to see a security camera awaiting my next move. The desolate prison had a large metal door placed on one of the four dark edges of the room: also a slotted peephole. I heard a irritating screech, then the door creaked open, bright light pooring in.

"Sleep well, did you not?" A newly present fox said with a noticable french accent, whom was dressed in a sleevless brown suit and a white shirt underneath with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He chuckled, his arms behind his back. Was he not fearing that I would attack him? "Let us assume you did, your probably questioning the reason behind your presence." He said with a paw on his chin. "I'm ever so sorry, how rude of me, my name is Elliot." I slowly rised to both paws, carefully analyzing the fox. My breathing shortened, becoming noticably louder with each exhale. "You sound troubled my friend, may I ask of your name?" He patherned. He either was extremely naive, or just acting naive.

"My name is Alex, which I'm sure you are well aware of." I panted, trying to resist attacking him. He smiled, and dug into his suit, he slid one leg forward and held out his paw: a notebook and pen rested on top.

"I'm sorry, but I can not rid you of your current troubles, but I can offer you this." He said, causing me to shed most of my bias about him. "Write, just write. Anything really, it will help the pain." He sighed as I took the notebook and pen. "I may not get to visit ever again, so this is goodbye." The fox turned to the metal door and stepped outside. My legs quivered upon realizing this could be my chance to escape; all I would have to do is run through the door. Before I could finish my thought, the door slammed close, the room thrown into the darkness once again.

I looked closely at the notepad, I flipped through the pages hoping for some secret message, but there was nothing. The metal door creaked once again, drawing my attention. The fur on my back stood up as two armor covered mammals entered, helmets blocking their faces. They both had bats: one alluminum, one wood.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's take it easy here fellahs." I backed up with two paws aimed towards them, I quickly jumped forward towards one of the guards, and held onto the other end of his bat. We tugged over the bat for only a moment before I let go, causing him to fall backwards. My legs dropped as the other swung his bat, grazing my ears. I grabbed his bat and we both held it upwards. I jumped up and planted both legs on his knees and sprung backwards, releasing a crackling snap. His bat tore from his paws into mine as I landed on my back.

Jumping to my paws, the other bat weilding maniac charged me from behind. I had the wooden bat, so this shouldn't be difficult. I dove to the left and he missed, running into the concrete wall. I raised the bat and was ready to swing at his back, but he ducked, my bat slamming into the wall, sending a chill through my paws. The batter was now on my left, strucking me right in the stomach. I winced in pain as he pushed me to the ground. I rolled onto my side for protection, the bat struck my shoulder, then my leg, then my ribs. I was yelling with every hit, and trying to protect myself with a single paw, but it was pointless, every swing struck me exactly where he wanted it. After about dozen dreadful slams to my helpless self, I was panting so hard my lungs hurt. Not only was I bleeding from several wounds, but I was coughing it as well.

"Nick Wilde." The mammal breathed, just as exhausted as I was. I opened my eyes from the pain and looked up at him slowly.

"Wha-What does that m-mean?" I stuttered, not even able to sit up. Two more guards entered and took away the mammal with the broken legs, along with my wooden bat. Then they all left except for the batter. He just walked around the room and occassionally talked on the phone. He had some friendly, normal conversations, however, most were about the terrible things he was being paid to do. Every phone call or so he would hit me with the bat out of nowhere, and I would, being as defenseless as I was, plead for him to stop.

"Water!" I croaked as loud as I could. It had been eleven hours since I had awoken, the guard with the bat had been rotated three times now, each one just as cruel as the last.

"Nick Wilde." The guard said while leaning against the wall on his phone. I grappled the wall and pulled myself to a standing position. I staggered towards him with a fist raised, but he was too quick, and kicked me to the ground. I curled into a ball as he kicked me over thirty times, each kick delivering unbearable amounts of pain; I was already covered head to claw in bruises.

"Nick Wilde!" He echoed with a final kick with caused me to yelp like a cub. He chuckled before returning to his phone. I thought about Nick and Judy, who were probably looking for me right now, I missed them so much. I slowly began to cry, letting my usual masculine attitude hide away in my heart. That cry turned into a loud wheep, I could tell the guard was irritated, but he was busy on his phone. My dry throat produced a scratchy moan as I drowned myself in sorrow, it sounded so terrible I wanted to stop myself, but couldn't, so I muffled it with my arm. A chair was brought into the room, a large wooden one with arm rests.

"Sit down." A new guard joined the old one, giving me orders. My shaky breath was a clear sign they had won, so I listened. I sat in the chair, the arm rests had restraints clearly visible on them, but if I refused, I would be brutally beaten once again. They retrained my arms and legs, and knocked the chair onto it's back. One of them revealed a large cloth, a gas can. I hoped it wasn't gas, but rather water, a much more common torture technique.

The cloth slapped onto my snout, I reassured myself that it couldn't be that bad, because my snout gave me room to breath. I felt the liquid splatter onto the thick cloth, and I couldn't breath. It was gasoline. I held my mouth shut as the pouring continued, holding back multiple coughs from the taste I received. I waited for the end after what seemed like an eternity, but was only thirty seconds, they didn't stop. Violently shaking my head, I screamed for them to stop through the cloth, only a muffled, inaudable howl came out.

They eventually stopped, and the both of them threw my seat upright, the cloth falling off on it's own. I exhaled deeply for several moments before a guard smacked me. He then left the room; the other guard remained next to me. He undid the restaints and stood next to my chair once again. The other guard returned, carrying a small cup. He stalked towards me, his boots clanking on the ground. I slowly took the cup: water. I downed it in no more than a few seconds.

"F-food?" I slowly looked up at the two of them. One chuckled and the other shook his head. My head drooped down as the feeling of hunger was stronger than ever. I only looked up enough to see both guards leave the room. I fell from the chair onto the cold, wet, rough floor and closed my eyes. The feeling of waking up at home came to me, and I embraced it.

I felt something wet on my face, slowly reviving me from my slumber. I rubbed the wet spot on my fur, it was dripping from the ceiling. The notepad from earlier was hiding in the corner, untouched. I carefully opened it up and reached for the pen next to it. I wanted to write.

'I will survive, no matter what.' I wrote the same sentence again a couple dozen times before moving on to something else.

'Judy and Nick will see me breathing.' Jotting across the small paper of the notepad felt soothing, but not enough for my condition.

I dropped the pen and felt satifised sitting in the wooden chair which was left behind. The door slot opened up, a pair of ears visible through it. The door swung open quickly, causing my spine to stiffen. The fox who offered me the notebook entered. He closed the door behind him, darkness resuming.

"Let me go..." I croaked, relying on something that was fading by the second, hope. He now stood right in front of me.

"You must understand, wolf, I do not have the capabilities to do so." He said quietly with a stern voice, approaching me. I looked up, my sitting position placing me below him.

"Don't let them kill me, I can't die." I choked on my words. He placed a paw on my shoulder, grasping it firmly.

"They are already dead on the inside. We all will be in good time." He released his grip on my shoulder and just looked down at me. I put my head back down, looking at his fancy boots. "Nick Wilde." He said with a deeper, scratchy voice. Quickly looking up at him, his face was a sly one, his slight smile, his drooped eye lids, and his chin held low. My left eyelid twitched, and I bared my teeth. I sprung forward and took him to the ground with me, the room echoed from the impact.

"WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!" I shook his shoulders, spitting saliva; my teeth only inches away from his face. "TELL ME!" I yelled loud enough that my own ears hurt. This fox was only slightly larger than half my size, so he couldn't break free.

"My apologizes, please refrain from biting me, I mean no physical harm." He said, pulling his head back as far as he could before hitting the floor. Great, now I felt bad. Slowly getting off of him, I brushed off my gym shorts. The fox joined me in standing and dusted off his suit.

"What the hell are you doing?" A very disgruntled voice echoed into the room, the door slot opened, a pair of green eyes staring back at me.

"I was merely speaking with the wolf " The fox was cut off by the door slamming open. My ears drooped from the sight of a jaguar, Ivan. He took one pawstep into the room, the heavy clanking of his boots against the concrete bounced around in my ears. He kept walking until he was close enough that I could feel his breath. I retreated my head and backed up a step. "If you would let me explain myself, I'm sure we " The fox began, Ivan quickly launched a paw to his left and knocked the fox onto his back. I reared an arm back and swung a hook at him. Ivan didn't duck, the strike landing right into his muzzle. He flinched as if someone had thrown a paper ball at him. He grabbed me by the fur on my chest and lifted me into the air. I was floating above the ground by Ivan's single pawed grip, he then flung me backwards, my back slamming against the concrete wall.

"Get out." Ivan growled viciously, turning his head towards the fox. He was quick to flee the room, closing the door behind him. I heard the bolt click; it was locked. Ivan's vision returned to me, and I pressed myself against the wall as hard as I could. The jaguar slowly made his way over to me, his pawsteps were frightening enough. Almost instantly he threw his arm down and grasped my neck, skidding my back up the rigid wall until my paws were off the ground once again. I could feel the scrapes being produced on my back as I used both arms to grapple his own. His grip wouldn't budge, no matter how hard I pulled. Using his other paw, Ivan slammed into my stomach, causing my cough to intensify. He repeated this a couple more times before through me across the room. I hit the floor and slid for a short moment.

Ivan didn't even laugh at how pathetic I was, he just scowled like before. He approached me once again, but this time I had room to retreat. I crawled backwards until my back hit opposite wall as last time.

"Stop!" I screamed in agony as Ivan side kicked my snout. He grabbed one of my legs and held it up slightly. He manuevered one paw to the top, one to the bottom.

"Nick Wilde." He said before tossing me across the room, slamming into the wooden chair sideways. "I'll break your leg another time." He said with pure anger as he left the room. He slammed the door so hard I felt the vibrations. I was lying on my back, sweat and blood drowning in my fur. I held my snout and curled into a ball, his kick hurt like a bitch. I whispered to myself that I would be okay as I silent wheeped.

Third Person POV

"Our time runs low, hurry up." Ivan said as he washed his paws in an old, rusty sink. The notepad gifting fox placed his suit nicely on a rolling hanging rack, and retrieved a black suit and tie. As he dressed, Ivan stretched out his arms and legs, and cracked his neck to the side.

"What a show to put on back there, take it easy on the pushing." The fox said in an english accent. Ivan snorted in response.

"He has to embrace it, or else nothing would proceed as planned." Ivan explained, grabbing a key from a metal folding table. The dim lighting of the bare, basement light room just barely reflected off of the fox's seemingly brand new suit.

"Well, best be going then!" The fox said in an overly sterotypical southern accent. Ivan barely cracked a smile, and the two strolled towards the door.

Author's Note

Let's play a game, leave a review and theorize on what the 'plan' Ivan hints at is. Hopefully you enjoyed Alex getting tortured and pushed to tears, the sad form of enjoyment of course (A+ logic). I'll try to push for another chapter soon, and school is almost out, so that'll offer more free time for myself.

Also, please leave a review on what you think about Alex's situation? Far-fetched, suspensful, too harsh, not harsh enough?


	10. Chapter 10 - Good Deeds

**Author's Note**

 **I'm sorry for cowarding out of writing the story, not only did I not have the time to write, but I also didn't have the motivation, but summer has arrived and I was inspired, so here we are! Tenth chapter, hooray!**

* * *

 **Alex's POV**

I placed my chair in the center of the dark, bare room. As injured as I was, jumping wasn't my strong point right now. I climbed up and grabbed the hanging, powerless, light bulb from the ceiling. A simple yank was all it took, I smashed it on the ground, producing a shank. The chair's arm rests were solid wood, so I snapped one off, test swinging it as a weapon. The broken light bulb was more of a backup, plus it's smaller, so it was placed behind the now correctly positioned chair, right across from the door. I sat quietly and waited, one arm on the broken board, back in it's rightful place. After about ten minutes or so the door slot opened, a glass, tinted visor peering in at me. A guard stepped into the room, just one: perfect. He had no weapons, and left the door just cracked. A terrifying thought entered my mind, there is a security camera in the corner of the room.

"I'm just here to give you this." The guard said, handing me a picture. I flipped it over, it was a picture of Judy. The guard was towering over me, I could tackle him. He slowly backed away, after a few steps he turned around. I quickly used both paws to tear the board back out of the chair and flung forward. The guard was quick to turn around, using his arm to block his face, but the impact sent him to the ground. He kicked me back with both legs and scrambled to get back to his paws. I swung and missed, he took the opportunity to counter with a fist, landing right on my cheek. I stumbled back, and pulled the board back up for another swing. He prepared to rear back as I thrusted the board towards him; I released my grip, the board taking to the air and slamming into his helmet.

He fell to the ground with a thud, and I quickly obtained the light bulb behind me and dove onto his unconscious body. I pulled the broken glass up, but my bared teeth and my furious eyes faded. I wasn't a killer. I dropped the bulb and looked at the door, it was open. The helmet of the guard was easy to take off his head, placing it upon my own, flattening my ears. The dense amount of clothing took a few moments to remove, but would hide me amongst their own. I cracked the door and peeked outside, not a soul. The corridor was moderately lit, but my separation of light for so long made it more like staring at the sun. The hall's rustic state wasn't what I expected, however, a pair of doors ended the hall. I opened them slowly, a much sanitary location was on the other side. Doors were evenly placed along a long, metallic hallway, which was darker, but also much more suitable than before. I saw guards and supposedly doctors roaming further down, which wasn't good for me.

I steadily walked down the hall, conversations of others drowning out my boots clanking on the metals. I forced myself to keep walking as each window I passed was either screaming or people walking around with test tubes, amongst other containers. A guard pushed passed me in a hurry, I stared forward as he slammed into several others littering the halls and ran into a room, identical to the others around it. Everyone resumed normal business after the near silence ended. I carefully approached the room, a view of the room shining through the window.

"Where is he?!" Ivan yelled from inside, my eyes widened from inside my helmet. Ivan wasn't just shirtless, his back was ridden of all fur, replaced by a layers metal plating. As he yelled, the metal took on the role of a spine like structure, bending at will. He gave up and turned away from the guard. My breathing quickened as I saw his front. Shiny metal covered his chest and stomach, stopping at his shoulders. There was a hexagonal hole in the middle, small amounts of blood riddled the outline of the shape, the inside was darkness. My trance was broke when I returned to Ivan as a whole, his head was dipped down, his eyes coming up to meet mine.

"Sir, you need to lay down so I can cover up " The guard was cut off by Ivan diving onto the medical bed and flinging himself towards the window. I was quick to dive away as the glass shattered into oblivion. I broke into a sprint down the hall, slamming into a guard when looking back for the jaguar. A guard swung at me, but I ducked and simply kept running. Ivan wasn't far behind, having no trouble with anyone in his path, striking them to the ground. I leaped over a passing corpse, laid sloppily on a rolling bed. Ivan followed, instead flipping the cart out of his way with a single paw.

The dense amount of guards in the corridor dropped to almost none as we entered what seemed to be a less popular area. The existence of this facility wasn't known to me, I had no idea what any of this was. I began to slow down, my joints becoming tired. A crash came from behind me, metal on metal. I spun around to see Ivan's body on the floor, his metal torso still moving from his pants. He was face down, his head turned to the side. I slowly walked over, bending down slightly, my arms out to do something, anything.

"Nick Wilde." I heard in my head, looking around slightly to see no one but myself and Ivan. A flashback took over my mind as I panted against a wall, three bullets striking my back. Nick saved Ivan. I quickly leaned down and flipped Ivan over onto his back, his original position left a small pool of blood. The hole in his chest made me turn away, the light shined down on him, revealing his insides. His breathing lightened, but only slightly. His gaze locked onto me, his expression remaining that of exhausted.

"Why?" He sputtered, coughing in the process. I took off my helmet slowly, my ears springing back up. I dropped from my knelt position so I was sitting with my legs stretched out. With a deep exhale, I thought about what to say.

"Ivan, when we worked together, you were the closest thing to a friend that I had." I said nervously, "I don't want anyone to die, especially someone who was there for me when I needed them." I placed my paws in my lap, staring down at my reflection in the cold, metal floor.

"You were the one who did this to me." He said, laying a paw on his chest. He was half accusing and half joking. I scratched the back of my head, placing my other paw behind me as I leaned back. Three guards took each side of the hall, all armed with rifles. They swiftly walked towards us, closing the large gap. I jumped to my feet and Ivan stood up with a grunt. He leaned back slightly to minimize the blood from leaving his chest.

"Take him away." Ivan panted, still remaining by my side. The guards moved inwards, and he chuckled to himself.

 **Judy's POV**

"Where is Nick!" I shouted while sprinting into the ZPD, Ben retreated with wide eyes.

"Did you lose him again? He asked, I shook my head in frustration.

"No, he was arrested!" Dragging my paws across my face as I spoke. Ben sighed, looking at his computer, he only looked half as worried as I was.

"There is no records of him being arrested, I'm sorry." He said with sympathy. I slouched over and wiped my forehead.

"Wait!" I jumped up in shock, "The news said he was taken in for questioning!" I said pouncing up to counter. Before Ben could respond, my phone rang, which I pulled out in less than a second. "Hello?" I asked with haste, still recovering from my recent conversation.

"Is this Judy Hopps?" A girl asked on the other end, her voice clearer than any I've ever heard.

"Yes ma'am." I answered, awaiting news about Nick, hopefully.

"I'm pleased to inform you that your friend Nicholas Wilde is not in any trouble, do you wish to speak with him?" She questioned, I couldn't help but smile, he wasn't in trouble at least.

"Of course!" I said a tad bit loud, startling Ben as he tried to listen in. After a brief couple moments, I heard someone fumbling with the phone.

"Judy?" Nick asked from the other side, sounding relieved.

"That's my name." I answered, both of us chuckling. Nick paused with a sigh, I could hear him pulling his tongue away from his teeth, making a soft clicking noise.

"Sorry, just thinking." He interrupted himself, "So yeah, they said you can come and pick me up if you'd like." He knew the obvious answer, of course I'd want to.

"Text me an address and I'll be there." I declared, swinging my paw for no one but myself.

"Yes ma'am." Nick said, moving the phone from his mouth. I heard a few words exchanged, but they were too quiet to decipher. Then the call was ended, I stuff the phone away in my pocket and ran for the door.

"Go get him, Judy!" Ben shouted, I rolled my eyes playfully before dashing out the doors to the parking lot. I hopped into my car and drove off, heading towards the address displayed on my phone. Luckily it was in Central Zootopia, so it shouldn't take too long to arrive there.

 **Alex's POV**

The guards weren't hesitant grapple and restrain my arms, Ivan watching every step of the way. I glared at him as the guards pushed me donw the hall, back towards where my cell would await.

"Wait." Ivan intervened, raising my hopes. All six of the guards turned to face him, and dragged me along. "I don't think his old cell will cut it, take him to stage two." Ivan said, jabbing two fingers to the other side of the hall. I was pushed past Ivan as the guards gossiped about this 'stage two'; it didn't sound good. The corridor ended after a couple turns with two heavy metal doors. My heart sank when they were opened. A chair replicating that of a barber shop's chair was in the middle, except with metal restraints spread across the whole thing. My legs started flaring around, and I tried to pry away from the grip of the guards. A cloth was thrown over my head and pulled back into my mouth, muffling a portion of my scream. It took four of the six guards to drag me over to the chair and toss me into it.

"Don't be idiots! Swing at him!" One said, struggling to stabilize me enough for the restraints. One punch to the jaw stopped my flailing, and I slumped to the side, panting. I could feel the burden of the restrains covering me, elbows, wrists, knees, paws, and neck movements all blocked.

"Make haste and get out." Ivan said sternly, causing all the guards to leave the room in only a few moments.

"Alex," He said with sorrow, leaning in towards me. "No matter how much they hurt you physically, don't let them get to what matters." He whispered, tapping his head with a claw. As he finished, the double doors opened across from us swung open, a fox entered the room, wearing a dark blue boiler suit and a bandanna. "He is all yours, sir." Ivan said, leaving me behind as he left the room.

"Any kids?" The fox asked as he pulled over a rolling table littered with an assortment of tools. He browsed through carefully, slightly turning to me every few seconds.

"Don't do this." I tried wriggling my arms and legs. My chest was tied into knots as he slowly raised a hammer. He circled the chair multiple times, then stopped right in front of me.

(This small scene has some torture violence, for those who dislike it, I put this here.)

"Any preferences for conversation?" He said with a deep, scratchy voice, examining his hammer. I didn't respond, knowing how pointless it was. "Suit yourself." He slammed the hammer down on my knee, a crack echoed as I screamed in agony. The fox didn't hesitate to repeat the act on the other side, getting the same reaction. He dropped the hammer to the floor with a thud and returned to the table. I held my eyes closed tight and tried to focus on my time with Judy. "Oh well, this will have to do." Holding my eyes closed, I had no idea what he meant. A paw grabbed my foot, causing me to open my eyes. He slammed the hammer down on one of my claws, breaking it. The pain was too much to bare, so I retreated to crying. He broke another claw, and I screamed as loud as I could, hoping to drown out the anger.

Blood trickled off my foot, and the fox slammed my snout against the hammer, releasing a crack. I slumped over, wanting nothing but to fall unconscious. The fox went behind the chair, which slowly elevated itself to a lying position, my eyes blinded by the bright light above me.

"A friend of mine did me a favor and collected these, since I was busy." He said, holding up a sealed blue container. He opened it above my stomach, multiple little red bugs pouring into my fur. I instantly felt pain as they stung into my skin. The pain slowly traveled over my body to my arms and legs. "Alright little guys, he's had enough." A bucket splashed over my body, my teeth chattered from how cold it was. The stings stopped coming, which was the best of luck I've felt had all day.

(Another pair of parenthesis.)

"Are you angry?" He asked with sympathy. Once again, I stayed silent. "ANSWER ME!" He exclaimed in rage, my ears hurting from how close he got.

"Yes..." I stuttered, still adjusting to the pain covering my body. The fox seemed satisfied with that, and he walked back over to the table.

"Well I hope you like the summer sun, by the way, you can call me Nick." He said, prying open the metal doors that lead to the hallway. What does that mean? I was laid out flat, restrained, not able to move anything but my mouth and barely my claws. I couldn't keep my heavy breathing down as the room seemed to engulf itself in heat. I knew what that damn fox did, I knew what he was trying to do: get into my head.

 **Third Person POV**

"I think he is ready." Ivan said, sitting up perfectly straight in his chair. Dr. Harris sat across from him at a fancy, dark oak desk. He raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"Really? He's only been here two days, surely that isn't long enough for someone like himself." He said, a paw on his chin.

"Felix was attacked by him; because he said the name Nick Wilde." That caught Dr. Harris off guard, as he hadn't heard of this yet.

"Well then I guess we can began the process, but we aren't certain," Dr. Harris began, accepting Ivan's request.

"Let me handle it." The jaguar pressed, cutting Dr. Harris off with pride. The panda thought for a moment, before gently nodding his head.

"Don't disappoint." He said, flicking his paw at Ivan, "Go on, you have work to do." Ivan didn't wait another moment to leave the room, glad that everything had gone like he planned.

 **Nick's POV**

"Well I'm sorry to inform you Nicholas, but I won't be present when Judy arrives." Ryan said as he stood up from his desk, adjusting his tie. Ryan was the fox which sat across from me.

"You sure?" I asked, wanting him to stay. He was a nice guy, and Judy would probably want to meet him.

"I have a," He took a moment of silence, "Doctor's appointment." He finished with a smile. I shook his hand before he took off, leaving me with the guards and the lady who answered the phone from the room next door. Silence dragged on for over an hour, my mind was concerned about Judy's whereabouts, as she should have been here over a half hour ago, then my phone rang.

"Hello?" I asked the unknown number. With everything that's happened recently, I didn't know what to expect.

"Nick, I could use your help," Alex said urgently from the other end, "I'm currently held prisoner by Dr. Harris's soldiers." He whispered.

"What?!" I asked, not understanding fully what he was talking about.

"Ivan is trying to help me escape, I'll text you an address, and no police." He warned, before hanging up. I was dumbfounded by everything he told me.

"Well, Judy is waiting outside for me, best be going." I lied, hoping they'd let me leave. One guard raised an eyebrow, but opened the door for me. Once I exited the room, my pace quickened. I sprinted outside and looked around, seeing the apparent problem, I didn't have a car with me. My phone buzzed, I got the address, but no means of getting there.

 **Alex's POV**

"You couldn't have took your damn time could you." I spat as I gave Ivan his phone back. Ivan growled, both of them hiding behind a labrotory counter.

"Quiet." Ivan breathed, placing a paw over my mouth. I heard the echoing footsteps of guards as they passed the room, continuing down the hall. "We have to get you out of here with haste, they won't stop looking." He cautioned, peeking over the counter. He motioned with a paw to follow him as he lurked over to the doorway, leading to the halls. "Whatever you do, they do not get this syringe." The jaguar proceeded by holding up the item.

We both crept along the walls of the hall, making no noise at all. Luckily no guards were in the area at the time, giving us a free pass. There were surely guards watching the exits to ensure no one like myself could escape, which was a problem. The metalic walls sent shivers up my back as we continued our path towards freedom.

"Is this some sort of mind game?" The words slid through my bared teeth. Ivan raised an eyebrow and turned his head to glance at me.

"Excuse me?" He whispered, still remaining alert of our surroundings.

"Why else would you be helping me of all mammals?" I said, assuming that having an enemy be my friend would be the best way to get to me.

"Judy delivered you to the hospital, leaving me alone with Nick. He was drunk and oblivious; I could have killed him." He said sternly, shoulders held high and fist raised. He then let up: drooping his shoulders, his arm swinging at his side. "It wasn't because my kids were in the house, but rather because he did the right thing." He paused, now facing me completely. "He saved my life so my children didn't have to suffer." Ivan was quick to cut off any further conversation, and began creeping down the hall again.

"That explains Nick, but why me?" I rebooted our chat, I could see him roll his eyes as we turned a corner.

"You and I worked together, we drank together, we laughed together, you saved Nick's life, he saved mine, end of discussion." He said a bit louder than before. Ivan didn't want to show any sign of weakness, I could tell, but it wasn't weakness, it was heart. The jaguar raised a paw, signaling me to stop. He slowly lowered to one knee, using a screwdriver to take apart an air vent.

"I know every corner of these vents, I studied them with crucial percision back in training. One path in particular will land us right outside." He said, finishing the final bolt before carefully laying the vent on the shiny floor.

"You sure the vent is big enough?" I asked, already feeling nervous, I never liked small spaces. Ivan sighed and began crawling into the duct.

"Would you rather try the main entrance?" He asked sarcastically, knowing I'd say no anyways. I let out a fake chuckle and got down on my knees. It doesn't look too bad, no big deal. At most my arms and legs would be constrained to a few inches of breathing room. As I forced myself to enter the vent for the sake of time, I felt my breathing become unsteady. "Don't fall too far behind." Ivan warned. Yeah, easy for the jaguar to say. I pushed myself with my legs behind me, my arms stuck in front of me, not able to move to my sides. The vents were luckily cold, making the experience less stressful.

"They're in the vents!" I heard the words echo around the enclosed metal enterior. Shit.

"Just keep moving, they won't be able to catch us." Ivan reassured me, ignoring the fact that our lives were in danger.

"Looks likes we're having wolf meat on the barbecue!" I heard the voice shout from through the wall.

"Frank, don't even joke about that!" Another scolded, making me want to smile. A gust of wind pushed past me, making me instantly realize what he meant by barbecue. The vents overflowed with intense heat, making my heart start pounding. My mouth opened on instinct, unsteady pants being released. I tried to push my knees under me, but my back hit the top of the vents, causing me to slide back down. I started groaning while trying to squirm in the vents. My groan turned in a yell, screeching across the seemingly closing in walls. I felt light headed, looking down at the floor.

"Alex!" Ivan yelled, having barely enough room to half face me. "Alex!" He said again, barely catching my attention. A forced slammed into my face, causing me to jump; Ivan just kicked me in the face. "It'd be best for you to start moving." He yelled. The heat only intensed as I regained my senses and began following Ivan once again. "So you like Judy huh?" That widened my eyes a bit.

"What?!" I asked almost angry, but continued our escape, even though it was slow enough.

"Oh come on, it's obvious, you even offered to help her after Nick's little incident." He laughed, I could tell he was poking fun at this point.

"No, we're just friends." I shot back, feeling embarrased. Ivan just continued a small snicker, it wasn't like him to act childish.

"I just said like, nothing more, you dug your own grave." He sighed. Damn he is good at making me talk. Ivan came to a sudden halt, surprising me. We reached another vent, instead of trying to unscrew it, he punched it open. Almost forgot about his "situation". We both climbed out of the vent and out into the fields of nowhere.

"Yeah the vent should lead right back here." We heard coming around the warehouse. Ivan was quick to take the corner, awaiting anyone's arrival.

"Hey I heard that your father was in some deep shit recently." A low, rough voice spoke. It was Kevin.

"Why you got to bring that shit up! Especially at work." The other mammal accused just as they both turned the corner. Ivan was quick to swipe the pistol Kevin wielded, and slammed it into his stomach, knocking the breath out of him before dropping the gun. The second guard, a panther, was quick to swing a punch at Ivan. His fist landed straight into Ivan's open paw. The panther was shocked, but used his other paw to punch Ivan right in the snout, not once, not twice, but three times. His reaction was pricely, Ivan didn't flinch, actually smiling a bit, before crunching the panther's knuckles, still enclosed in his paw.

"Traitor!" Kevin yelled as he scooped up Ivan from behind, holding him in a bear hug, focus Alex. Ivan squirmed, even with his current strength, he couldn't break free. The panther swiped the pistol Ivan dropped a moment ago and aimed it at me.

"Alex! Catch!" Ivan yelled as he managed to get a paw free, he tossed the syringe, landing right in my paws. The panther's expression quickly changed, he also seems to know it's important, unlike me, he might actually know what it is.

"Shoot him!" Kevin demanded, the panther, raised his gun to me once again. "Not him you moron! The jaguar!" So that's how it was going to be.

"You shoot him I'll break the syringe!" I said, holding it up as a warning. Kevin tossed Ivan aside, spinning around. The panther shot at Ivan while Kevin quickly approached me.

"Don't break it!" Ivan screeched as bullets fired off. I had to think, I can't out power Kevin, but I can out run him. As I felt confident with my solution, however, the bulb was bursted. Kevin revealed another pistol from his belt. I had nothing to lose, nothing but Judy and Nick. I stabbed the syringe into my arm and injected it. Kevin raised the gun in an instant as I fell to my knees. Ivan came up behind him and flipped him over his back, landing Kevin on his neck. He sprung into the air, doing a back flip before landing a fist square against Kevin's snout. "I didn't say to inject the damn thing!" He spat in anger as he knelt down to support me. I felt as if I was drunk.

"Is it poison?" I slurred, blinking constantly to try to restore my blurry vision.

"To your sanity, maybe." He coughed. He placed my arm over his shoulder and lifted me into the air. I felt my vision fade away as he slumped towards the grassy plains, his metallic chest seemed to have taken the bullets rather well.

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 **Author's Note**

 **Once again, sorry for the obvious lack of updating the story. Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter, along with Ivan's decision to help Alex! I'll try to pump out another chapter soon!**


	11. Chapter 11 - Dining in the Dark

**Author's Note**

 **LONGEST CHAPTER**

 **I did a decent amount of planning on this chapter, I tried to make it a bit feely wheely, buckle up and enjoy!**

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 **Judy's POV - Scene 1 - 7:30 P.M. - Monday**

I looked down at my phone again, and then back up to the building, this was the place. I parked on the side of the road and strolled over the fancy wooden doors that Nick supposedly lied behind. I knocked with a smile, ready to see Nick for the first time since, well, when I dropped him off at his apartment. An armadillo opened the door, seemingly confused.

"Can I help you miss?" She asked. I remained with a smile and took a breath.

"I'm here to pick up Nick." I placed my paws on my hips. She hummed to herself, tapping on her chin.

"Nick said he left with you ten minutes ago." She replied, perplexed. I squinted my eyes and rubbed my chin as well. My phone ringing interrupted me, I quickly retrieved it from my pocket and saw Nick's name pasted on the screen. I put the phone up to my ear.

"Nick, where are you?" I asked, slightly upset that he'd left. The armadillo closed the door, while rude, I could care less.

"Well you see Judy, Alex is being held hostage, and I decided to go help him." He spoke as if I was a child.

"Where?!" I screeched, throwing myself back into my car. "I'll get the ZPD!" I shot off down the street.

"I'm headed towards the Eastern boarder of Zootopia, it's out of town." He explained, did he really plan on having me pick him up part way there? "Also, no police." He expressed, making me frown to myself.

"No police? He is being held hostage, right?!" I scolded in anger.

"Carrots, I've been shot somewhere in the neighborhood of a dozen times this past week, I'm sure I'll be fine." He said rather sternly. "No police." He reinforced. I let out a deep sigh and continued on my way towards the Eastern edge of Zootopia. After a boring few minutes of driving, I slowed to a halt, seeing Nick awaiting me on the sidewalk. He ran around the front of the car and tossed himself into the passenger seat.

"Do you think he is okay?" I bit my lip as I asked Nick the question. He let an "ahhh" as he looked up.

"Judy, hate to be the one to tell you this, but Alex is an exile to the perpetrators. There is no way they're letting him off easy." That didn't ease the pain, Nick already seemed to regret saying it. What if he was severely injured, or worse.

"What if he is already dead!" I slammed my head on the steering wheel. After another twenty or so minutes of driving, we crossed a body of water via bridge, which lead into a grassy plains.

"Stop the car." Nick said, I quickly halted the vehicle, and Nick hopped out and headed towards rising smoke through the field; The setting sun made it obvious. I did the same and followed close behind the fox, who seemed just as curious as I was. We peeped through the obnoxiously tall grass only to see a dark jaguar, their back coated with metal shingles. The jaguar slowly peered behind him, only a fraction of his face was enough to remind us who it was, Ivan.

"The operation only took a few hours." He said calmly, "Alex is here if you'd like to speak with him." He motioned to the other side of the campfire. Alex lied sprawled out in the grass, somewhat hidden. I wasn't in police uniform, but I was keeping a taser with me rather than a tranquilizer. I raised it to Ivan's level.

"Get on the ground!" I screamed, startling Nick, who was trying to circle around the campfire to Alex's unattended body. Ivan stood up from his crouched position and turned to face me. "NOW!" I reinforced, hoping it'd do the trick.

"I saved his life." He proposed taking a step closer, the campfire casting a giant gloomy shadow over me. "Without me, he'd be dead, or worse." That caught me off guard, what's worse than being dead? He took another slow step towards me, only merely five feet from arm's reach. My lip quivered, so Alex was okay. "If you think for one second that I can't—" The prongs of the taser landed, one on his arm, the other hit his metallic chest. He grunted as he slowly fell to his knees, clearly fighting the shock. " be the good guy..." He trailed off, planting his elbows into the dirt. The shock died off, leaving Ivan panting on the floor.

"We should probably take Alex to the hospital, again." Nick finished with a dissatisfied grunt, dragging Alex's unconscious body from under his arms.

"That did me in rather well." Ivan sputtered, struggling to regain posture. I twiddled my thumbs after placing my taser back on my belt.

"I don't usually get scared." I said quietly, feeling somewhat guilty for tasing him, regardless of his aggressive manor.

"Yeah, no, it's fine," He paused to take a breath, "but pretty sure you could have killed me just then." he rolled over onto his back, spread out like he was making a snow angel, staring into the nearing nighttime sky.

"I'll just put this hunk of a wolf in the car by myself!" Nick shouted from the street, which was only about two dozen feet away. Ivan groaned as he climbed to his legs.

"I suggest you call the ZPD with haste, since we escaped, they probably won't stick around in that warehouse for long." Ivan dusted off his elbows and knees. I made my way back through the grass towards the street, still keeping a sharp eye on Ivan as he trudged slowly behind. As we approached the car, Ivan picked up his pace and walked around to the back of my car and lifted Alex's legs into the car's trunk as Nick took his arms. I sat in the front seat watching the two of them through the back mirror. The sun sunk below the horizon, drowning the fields into a slow obtained darkness. Ivan and Nick carried Alex out of the trunk and instead into the backseat. Nick took the back seat before Ivan could make a choice, so he was stuck sitting up front. I turned left part way into the field in order to spin the car around, before taking off back towards Zootopia.

The silence was ignorant of Nick's current phone call to the ZPD, as if it wasn't to be heard. The headlights lit up the dark street in front of us as we neared Zootopia's edge. Ivan had an elbow placed against the window, running his paw across his head. The streets slowly filled with bits of light and color as we pulled closer to Central Zootopia, where the ZPD awaited us. I glanced at the mirror above me to a heart warming sight. Alex's head lied on Nick's lap, just staring at the wolf, asking him to wake up without a word spoken.

* * *

 **Nick's POV - Scene 2 - 11:00 P.M. - Monday**

I slumped in my chair as a sheep kept pushing Ivan for more information, using his involvement as blackmail. I still couldn't believe that Dr. Harris and all his flea ridden scientists managed to clear the warehouse in the scale of only a couple hours, we were just informed by the police sent there that not a single mammal was present.

"So Ivan, any idea where Dr. Harris scurried off to?" The sheep asked in a taunting manor. Ivan sighed, but the sheep continued, "If you can't give us any valuable information than we have no reason to not lock you behind bars!" He threatened. That wasn't going to work on Ivan. The investigation room door unbolted, opening to reveal Chief Bogo himself and a fox.

"You said Ivan was alone!" The fox let out a loud whisper, putting both paws over his face quickly.

"Surely it doesn't matter?" Chief Bogo said respectfully, leaning over slightly to accommodate the fox's height.

"I only speak in private." The fox said as he reversed from the door out of sight. Ivan had a perplexed look on his face, resting his chin on his paws.

"Must be private everywhere then." Judy joked, only getting a grin from me. Ivan and the sheep were unamused. Sure Judy's heard him say like two things, but she is probably right to think he does a lot of talking. It's weird, last week seeing another fox was a rare occurrence for me, but just in the last day I've seen two.

"I'm sorry, please continue." Bogo grunted before slamming the door closed.

"Mr. Sheep." Ivan snapped his fingers, regaining the attention of the confused mammal. "That fox, I must speak with him." He said impatiently, standing up from his chair.

"We aren't finished here, you give me what I want and then you don't get thrown in a jail cell." The sheep shot back, placing both hooves on the table. Ivan remained standing regardless of the threat.

"Ivan, sit down." I tapped his arm lightly, he sighed and pulled his chair in behind him, slumping in his chair.

"You want something to go off of?" Ivan said, "Give me a piece of paper." He finished, the sheep slide him a notepad and pen from his shirt pocket. Everyone waited patiently as Ivan scribbled a few things down.

"Talk to her and her husband, Dr. Harris recently hired their son." Ivan said with a sigh, "Am I free to go now?" He finished. The sheep looked satisfied with his offer.

"Thank you for your cooperation, but it's going to be a bumpy road getting you out of the shit hole you dug." The sheep explained. "However, Nick and Judy, you best get going." He urged us to leave. Carrots thanked both Ivan and the sheep for their help before we left. The ZPD building illuminated the night as we heading out into the parking lot, the street lights leading the way.

"You can just drop me off at my place, we'll visit Alex tomorrow." I yawned, my eyes tearing up as Judy started the car.

* * *

 **Nick's POV - Scene 3 - 6:50 P.M. - Tuesday**

Judy's car pulled up next to Quarry's, a restaurant famous for it's multicultural food, both of us eager for a bite to eat.

"Wish Alex could have joined us." Judy said as I opened the restaurant door for her. I wish that too, but he wasn't in any condition to just leave the hospital, but Judy called over there last night and they said he wasn't doing too bad.

"I'm sure he won't take it to heart, Carrots." I joked as a pig awaited out silence.

"Table for two?" She asked us with a big smile. I always loved the atmosphere of this place, the hearty animals, the dim warm lighting, the old fashioned music, and the wood: oh the wood, solid wood everywhere.

"Yes please." Judy said, rocking back and forth on her feet. We only had to wait a few moments before we were directed to our table.

"Good evening, I'm Blake and I'll be your waiter tonight." A raccoon approached as Judy and I sat across from each other in the polished wooden chairs. "What can I get you to drink?" He asked, looking between both of us periodically.

"I'll have a margarita, feeling it today." I said happily, "I'm pretty sure I know what you want." I directed at Judy.

"I'll just have carrot juice." She said bluntly. I chuckled lightly, waiting for Blake to leave.

"Alright, I'll be back soon." The raccoon turned around and strolled off. I turned my attention back to Carrots.

"Carrot juice?" I grinned, "Rabbits are so typical." I finished with a snicker. Judy had a smile on her face, one of pure evil.

"Means a lot coming from a fox who stereotyped the world since he was nine years old." Judy leaned onto the table with her elbows. "I guess old habits die hard." She concluded, sitting back in her chair. I had to change the subject before she mentions that I can't think of a comeback.

"Wonder what would happen if an elephant and a mouse came in here together." I pondered. Judy took the bait and her face went from that of the devil to being in confusion. "They usually sit you at specifically sized tables, in our case, no big deal, but imagine them trying to seat an elephant and a mouse." I barked rather loudly; luckily this place wasn't quiet most the time, it's more of a party restaurant.

"Yeah I can already imagine them setting up a little tiny table and chair on an enormous table." Judy responded, looking around the room. "So what gave you the idea to go out for dinner tonight?" I thought about that for a moment, it was my idea.

"Well I figured with everything that's been going on as of recent we could do something nice for a change." I smiled, staring at the sidetracked Judy, who was probably searching for a minuscule table somewhere. That was more of a stretched truth; I just want Judy to be happy.

"May I present your drinks?" Our waiter asked, carefully lying down a fancy wine glass along side a glass cup. I pulled my margarita from the center of the table, Judy doing the same with her carrot juice.

"Thank you." Judy said before taking a sip. I starred at my drink, last time I drank a margarita was here, just around five months ago. I was celebrating with Finnick about our success that day, we made twice as much cash as usual and decided to treat ourselves.

"Ready to order?" Blake asked, holding up a notepad. Judy placed a paw on her chin for a moment. I figured I'd just go for a bug burger with some good old fashioned cockroaches, or maybe some spaghetti?

"Yes, I'll have spaghetti with a side of corn." She answered happily. I didn't want to order the same thing, that'd be unoriginal. Blake then turned his attention to me, awaiting my response.

"Uhh, I'll just have a bug burger, cockroach style." I ended with a rusty voice, making the both of them chuckle a bit.

"How would you like that cooked?"

"Medium is fine, also a side of fries, please." Blake wrote as I talked, before lowering the notepad.

"Alright, anything else?" He asked. Judy looked at me for a moment, then back to our waiter.

"No thanks." She said, Blake nodded and headed off with our orders.

"You know, I'm still curious as to when we are going to get back to normal." I sparked conversation to fill the gaps between taking sips of our drinks, and of course because I love talking.

"Yeah, it's been an entire week, hasn't it?" She replied with more of a statement rather than a question. Lucky for me I was asleep for a decent amount of it.

"When will the horrors stop?" I said with a smile. Judy took another drink from her beloved carrot juice. "Hey, after we go see Alex we should go to the movies!" A light bulb went off in my head. It'd be perfect, just me, her, and ridiculously fattening, but delicious popcorn.

"Yeah! What movie did you have in mind?" Shoot, didn't think of that one. I hummed as I browsed some recently released films in my head.

"How about 'Below the horizon'?" She didn't seem convinced.

"What's it about?" She asked. Understandable, not the most popular movie released.

"It's a movie about about a group of mammals trying to survive a terrible storm, heard it was pretty good." Judy shrugged her shoulders.

"Don't see why not." Perfect, dinner and movie night: pretty rare occasion, so I'm grateful.

"Let's just hope for a miracle that the hospital lets Alex come along." I grinned. Judy seemed to be interested in that topic.

"Speaking of Alex, do you know what happened to him?" Carrots asked, based on her face, she obviously didn't know either; guess I had to disappoint her.

"Not a clue." A sigh escaping my mouth. "Not a clue." I repeated quieter than before, looking down at the ground.

* * *

 **Nick's POV - Scene 4 - 8:15 P.M. - Tuesday**

Judy drove as I kicked back on my phone, both of us heading towards the hospital, where Alex was probably eagerly waiting for us. She found us a pretty close parking spot, guess the hospital wasn't too popular today. We pushed through the revolving door at the entrance and made our way to the front desk.

"Hi, we're here to see Alex Howlard." Judy introduced, the pig turned to her computer without a word. As she typed, she snuck a glance or two at me.

"Room 311" She informed us, we both turned away to head to the elevators. "How did you survive?" She asked, almost guilty, which surprised me.

"What?" Judy cut in, turning back to face the desk attendant.

"You were here last week, weren't you?" The pig asked, making me think. Then it hit me, she was here when I got shot by Kevin, the polar bear.

"Yeah, I guess I'm just lucky!" I said in delight before nudging Judy to move along with me. We both hurried around the corner to the elevators.

"What was that about?" Judy whispered in anger as I pushed the button for an elevator. I tilted my head and looked at her.

"Well you see, I got shot here on, uhhh, Friday I think." I started, tapping my chin. "She saw it go down, or at least part of it." I got into the elevator as I finished, Judy following close behind. She didn't give me the response I was expecting, which would have been really anything. I pushed the button labeled three and we ascended in silence. We roamed the third floor until we found room 311, door closed. I took the lead and gave a light knock. A rhino slowly and carefully opened the door and stepped outside before closing it behind him.

"Here to see Alex I presume?" He whispered.

"Yeah, is that okay?" Carrots whispered back, even though there seemed no reason to, guess it's contagious among conversation.

"Well he is sleeping right now, and with the way he's been acting I think it's best—"

"LET JUDY IN!" A familiar wolf shouted from inside, startling all three of us. A momentary silence was shared between Judy and I, the rhino joining in.

"Does this mean we get to go in?" She asked slowly. I rolled my eyes playfully as the rhino opened the door for us.

"You guys are okay!" Alex smiled, not knowing much about our whereabouts since Ivan's place.

"Never better." I replied just as relieved, we really did get a break though, so I wasn't lying.

"So how is he?" Carrots asked one of the present doctors, there were two surprisingly, considering Alex seemed fine to me.

"He is, uhh" The goat doctor paused, "Stable." He slowly finished. Seems like he over generalized that specifically for us to ask what he meant. "Go ahead, talk to him yourself." He interrupted his own silence. Judy and I turned to face Alex, who was sitting up in his bed.

"How you feeling big guy?" I asked, mostly serious.

"I've been better, that's for sure." He said, removing the blanket that covered his lower body.

"Want to talk about what happened?" Judy jumped in, making Alex's smile fade.

"I'd like to, but it's like a lump in my throat." He sighed, throwing his legs off the side of the bed.

"Take your time, we aren't going anywhere." I tried to lighten the mood. Alex's smile half returned to my luck.

"Speaking of you guys. I wanted to thank both of you." Alex said, standing up without a problem, which seemed to perplex the doctors out of the corner of my eye. "Without you two, I don't think I'd have the will to survive that warehouse." He leaned down and pulled us both into a light hug, while usually I'd say awkward, it was called for in that moment. He retreated to his normal height with a warm smile.

"Just your neighborhood heroes Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde." I joked, lightly elbowing Judy, who joined in with my only partly forced laughter. Alex's face went from a smile to one of finding out you're all out of blue berries, and not the sad kind, but the 'who the hell ate my damn blue berries' kind.

"Alex, you okay?" Judy asked slowly, watching as Alex looked away, his jaw pressed upwards.

"Aww, does Alex need his beauty—" My continuation of Judy and I's little inside joke was cut off. Alex's claws slammed into the side of my head so fast I couldn't comprehend it fully, but at the same time, I really could. I felt my left cheek flare up as each claw dug into my fur, then my skin. Alex starred at me as blood stained my fur, his eyes so wide, his teeth so bared, his eyebrows raised high, but slanted so low. A small little drip of blood managed to fall to my suit that I was wearing from diner, leaving a tiny, oblivious stain. It was only at this point in time that I noticed I was no longer standing, I was tilted backways, my legs ahead of me. Time returned to normal with a loud crack as my head slammed against the tile, the rest of my body following not too far behind with a thud.

I remained motionless as Alex took a step closer, towering above me. The rhino officer grabbed him from behind and lifted him from the ground. Judy backed away in absolute shock, her chest heaving from breathing so hard. The doctors were freaking out and were unsure what to do. Judy fell to her knees next to me and placed a paw on my other, non-bloodied cheek. She was talking but I couldn't make out what she was saying, it was like we were underwater, except I was drowning in pain this time. Half the pain from being hit so damn hard, the rest from shock and confusion.

* * *

 **Judy's POV - Scene 5 - 8:40 P.M. - Tuesday**

Nick sat quietly in the passenger seat as I drove towards his apartment, his cheek still gashed open. He refused any kind of medical treatment, saying it'd heal. The sun had set, leaving both of us in the darkness of the downside of Zootopia. Nick didn't exactly live in a good neighborhood. I couldn't help but sniffle every other moment, a few tears finding their way into my fur. It didn't make any sense, why would he do such a thing? I slowed the car to a halt in front of Nick's apartment. He exited the car without a word, taking to his front door. I followed behind with my head down, respecting his will to not talk. After we entered, I closed the door behind me and carefully stepped over various bits of trash in the darkness as Nick slumped onto his couch and grabbed the TV remote. He turned on the TV and dropped the remote on floor, not caring for what showed up on screen. He didn't even look at me as the screen flickered to life revealing what looked like a generic movie, an old one. I quietly sat down next to him, keeping an entire foot of space between us.

"Nick, are you okay?" I whispered slowly, not wanting to make him uneasy. However, he didn't respond, which made me uneasy instead. His gloomy face only made be sadder, contagious even. "Can we please talk about what happened?" I begged, looking him in the eyes. He shot me a quick glance, but returned to starring at the television.

"What is there to talk about?" He croaked, his body leaning to the side.

"Why Alex would do such a thing." I responded, paying no attention to anything but him.

"I don't want to even think about it." He gritted his teeth, drooping his head back against the top of the couch. I scooted closer, Nick turned his head down slightly, squinting at me. I slowly took one of his paws in my own and looked at the television. He noticed this and did the same, guess this is as close to movie night as we'd get.

* * *

 **Judy's POV - Scene 6 - 9:30 P.M. - Tuesday**

I was knelt down next to Nick's old, torn up couch as he lied sideways, his deep breathing the only thing heard. He was still in his suit, which wasn't in the best of shape. I slowly rubbed circles around the collar of the suit, where a small dark red stain was present. His cheek was already in the process of healing, his fur the only thing left to heal. I scratched gently behind his ears like I did last time I had the chance.

"Nick, I love you, but I can't..." I whispered in between sniffles, slowly rising to my feet, making my way to the front door.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Fun facts about this chapter!**

 **1\. Scene 3 was originally going to be Alex's POV in the hospital, giving more details in that area.**

 **2\. I wrote out each scene before actually going into full detail with the chapter.**

 **3\. I put in the diner scene because I felt that it was needed to lighten the air, and because I felt skipping the entire day would feel too 'meh'.**

 **4\. Nick didn't seem like as much as an asshole in my original plan for Scene 5.**

 **5\. Alex was going to originally dodge a taser before being tackled after hitting Nick.**

 **6\. Alex's last name Howlard is a shitty pun I made up based on one of Zootopia's director's, named Bryon Howard.**

 **7\. The title, dining in the dark, is symbolic to how Nick goes out to dine regardless of the dark events occurring.**

 **Did you guys like this chapter? Should I do more in detail scenes and take things slower, such as the dining scene, more often? Or do you prefer me skipping through time, or do you not care? Anyways, I tried to make this one a heavy hitter on the emotion, don't forget to review your criticism, opinions, or general thoughts on this chapter, as it's greatly appreciated. Also don't be shy to make your review longer than five or six words.**


	12. Chapter 12 - Talking Pain

Author's Note

If you catch any spelling or grammatical errors, just try to ignore them D:

Warning: this chapter has a lot of Nick in it, in more ways than one.

I feel bad for Nick.

Nick's POV - Scene 1 - ? - Wednesday

I slowly croaked awake from sleep, one eyelid peeling open after the other. I coughed, producing a sharp pain in my chest. The sting-like pain didn't subside, instead remaining in my chest. I slowly lifted a paw up and slammed against my chest in the almost pitch black room. Nothing. I was still on the couch from what I could tell, and to no surprise, in my suit. The sharp pain amplified, making my breathing take an unsteady course. My deep breaths turned to gasps as I curled up in a ball, both paws over my chest. I couldn't breath for brief moments at random, and I began shaking.

"Judy!" I tried to shout, but a crooked whisper was all that came out. I rolled off the couch and fell onto my face. I mustered enough strength to put both my arms in front of me in an attempt to hoist myself upwards. I pushed up, then moved my arms to the couch and coffee table at my sides to assist me. My knees tremble as my arms are placed around my suit, furiously pulling at it. I got everything off my chest except a white tank-top, all while in trembling pain. After another moment the pain slowly began to fade, making me take a deep breath.

I sat in silence for a few moments, recollecting my thoughts. At least I didn't pass out, right? I pulled myself to my feet and turned on a nearby lamp. The orange light pulled the details of the room into sight. My dirty suit lied behind me, the couch cushions were out of place and torn open as usual. There was trash just about everywhere. Judy never comes into my apartment, with a few rare exceptions, she knows I'm lazy on my free time, but this is ridiculous. I dropped my fancy black pants to the floor, proving further how lazy I can be. A fox in boxers and a tank-top in the middle of an atrocious house. My stomach growled intensely, forcing me to stroll into the kitchen. I threw open a few cupboards until I found a quarter full box of cereal, my kitchen was the opposite of organized. I got out the last slice of leftover pizza from the fridge, and searched for even more. The fridge was close to empty, as I was barely home for the last week, never getting a chance to hit the grocery store. I peered to my microwave, it was 1:45 AM.

"Sleep is for the weak." I groaned as I got on all fours to search below the counters for more to eat. A chair and a tiny table were hidden quietly in the corner of the dark kitchen, perfect. I wanted to lean back in the chair as I stuffed my face with plain cereal, but the chair was backed against the wall, which wasn't exactly comfortable. After a few minutes, I set the box at the back end of the table, which was only about a foot long, and lifted the cold pizza from the surface.

Judy's POV - Scene 2 - 7:30 AM - Wednesday

A silent jaguar sat across from me at the ZPD cafeteria. Ivan sat quietly with both arms crossed on the table, just staring at me. I didn't mind for the first couple minutes, I didn't expect him to say anything. I'm responsible for watching him, not being his friend.

"No coffee?" He asked, raising a paw a mere inch from the table, extending his paw open. Coffee break with no coffee, sad, but true.

"No coffee." I responded simply, being as dull as possible.

"You know coffee's been around since the 15th century." He interrupted the silence once again, but why?

"Okay." I raised an eyebrow, wondering why he bothered talking at all, as he didn't have to.

"Coffee is important to every officer's morning," He said like a know-it-all, I was about to respond but he wasn't finished. "I remember my father used to give make me work for my coffee." He looked down with a pause. "He showed me how waking up has an easy way out, and a hard way." His eyes rising to face me once again.

"I'm guessing the easy way is coffee?" I said questioningly, curious as to what he meant. Ivan nodded his head slowly.

"My father made me wake up and work on his farm for two hours right out of bed, as a reward, I'd get coffee." He said, almost at a whisper.

"And the hard way is labor." No questioning that one, it was pretty obvious. Ivan shrugged one shoulder and closed his eyes, raising his eyebrows. So he didn't need to the coffee, but got it anyways.

"Yes, but anyways, my father died later that year, I was only eight." Drinking coffee and working on the farm at eight, sounds excessive. "He died in the hospital. He told me to never take the easy way out." He finished. I still don't see how that correlates to anything really.

"Tell you what," He leaned in very close to me, making me move my head back slightly. "Get us out of here, and I'll tell you the rest." He said with a slight smile before falling back into his stool. I tapped my chin for a moment, considering his offer.

"Fine." I said quickly, "let's go get coffee." I said with a devious smile, Ivan chuckled at this.

"How dare you." He joked before standing up in unison with me. "Guess I'll have to wait to kill you, because I still love coffee." He said, making it very clear that he was joking. He made me laugh, I'm never going to forgive myself for this.

Nick's POV - Scene 3 - 7:40 AM - Wednesday

I opened the rotting wood door into my bathroom, flipping on the light, which illuminated the room in a light yellow, rather than orange. I yanked off my tank-top, ready to take a shower. I looked in mirror closely, scratching my chin. Apparently my rapidly healing body includes muscle growth, as I appeared "More fit" than before. I made sure to groom well, knowing sitting in my apartment all day wasn't going to happen. No I'm not going into detail on the shower. Afterwards I was back in my boxers and tank-top doing sit ups in front of the TV, which was on the news station.

The ZPD couldn't keep it a secret forever, it was public that I'm no normal officer, that Alex is still allowed on the force, and that Ivan is allowed to leave the ZPD under super vision regardless of the fact that he is a super soldier, not to mention trained to deceive. I honestly feel bad for Chief Bogo, because he is the head of the ZPD, he is taking some heavy fire from this, and some even question his position for his job. He's perfect for the job, he can't just lock Ivan up and fire Alex, it'd ruin everything, considering they are against Dr. Harris at this point.

I tossed myself onto the couch and continue watching the news. The public insists that Ivan is locked up, regardless of his change of "Heart", or whatever is inside that chest now. The news then brought up Alex, and his involvement, claiming he saved my life, and had much less to do with the planning phase of the super soldier project. The sound of the news slowly faded as I thought about Alex, we were friends, why would he hit me? Especially so damn hard. I knew something was wrong, not just because he hit me, but because he was so calm just before. I couldn't just dwell on what could have happened, I had to know; the only way to know was to ask Alex himself. I grabbed my car keys, which sat on a small cabinet table, right where I left them over a week ago, and slipped out the front door. My car was the definition of shitty, which is why there is no complaint to riding with Judy, the paint might as well have been eating the rust. The engine started with a few hacks and coughs, better than usual to be honest. Zootopia was already bustling with action even at this time of morning, cars flowing up and down the streets, mammals of all kinds taking to the sidewalks, beginning their busy days. It was peaceful regardless.

My clunker of a car swayed left to right with every turn until I pulled into the hospital parking lot. It wasn't too busy, so I parked close to the front. I leaned back in my seat and reached for my phone. My eyes widened and my ears shot up. I didn't have my phone, I didn't even have pockets. I was still in my boxers and tank-top. My wallet wasn't present as well. I pulled my fur on the back of my head, angry at myself for being a moron. A light bulb went off in my head, and I crept out of the car and over to the trunk. I unlocked and opened it to reveal a couple of old boxes. I dug through them until I found an ancient pair of jeans. I bounced up and down lightly as I lifted one leg into the pants, I fell backwards onto my back.

"Damn it." I whispered as I finished putting the jeans on and jumping back to my feet. I looked around and saw three mammals staring at me in confusion. "Move along, I know I'm handsome." I tried to play cool, all three of them just rolling their eyes and treading away. That was awkward. I continued to the hospital, pushing past the revolving door once again. I approached the lady at the front desk, who seemed surprised at my visit.

"Can I help you?" She followed procedure. I smiled in return and placed my entwined paws on the desk.

"I'm here to see Alex Howlard." I said, hoping for the best that he was still here.

"I'm sorry sir, but he isn't allowed to visit, especially you of all mammals." She said, truly looking apologetic.

"Well you don't seem to understand, I need to ask him about last night, it's important." I pushed. She didn't seem amused.

"Sorry, but you can't see him, come back another time." She drew a fake smile on her face. I dropped my eyebrows and smile. I began walking towards the elevators anyways, remembering the room from yesterday, 311. A rhino and a tiger blocked my path, both wearing ZPD uniforms.

"Nick, regardless that you're co-workers of ours, you can't see Alex." The tiger enforced. Great so now they have officers at the lobby too, guess they were serious about security. "He isn't stable and we don't want you or him to get hurt." The tiger smoothed over, sounding sympathetic. I pulled out my phone and called Alex. Both officers looked at each other, then back to me.

Alex's POV - Scene 4 - 8:30 AM - Wednesday

My two doctors talked quietly at the counters across the room from my bed. I had restraints on my wrists to prevent me from getting up, but nothing too serious, they were easy to undo anyways. I couldn't stop thinking about what happened last night, and how I felt I wasn't even in control of myself. In a split second a buzzing erupting in my ears, making me sit up from my slouched position.

"What's that noise?" I groaned, both doctors turning to face me. They looked perplexed, and turned to one another, then back to me.

"What noise?" The goat asked, scratching his head. They exchanged glances once again, this time ones confused frowns.

"Where is my phone?" A thought occurred, the buzzing did in fact sound familiar. I looked around the bed but couldn't spot it, not even on the night stands. The goat, Dr. Diaz, turned around and opened a drawer under the counter. He pulled out a folded sheet and placed it on the counter. He unfolded it and revealed my phone. He put on his glasses and held it close to his face. "Can I have my phone?" I asked, wanting to talk to someone I knew.

"Sorry, you shouldn't speak with this individual at this time." Diaz kept it vague, but I knew who he was talking about. He was referring to Nick.

"Can you at least answer it?" I said, almost begging. He hesitated for a moment before holding the phone up to he ear.

"Hello, this is Dr. Diaz." He greeted, turning back around to face the counters.

"Hey, I need to speak with Alex, I'm in the lobby, but security won't let me up." Nick said, I flinched as Nick's words entered my ears. He was already here?

"I'm sorry, but it's in your best interests to leave Alex alone for the time being." Dr. Diaz declined Nick's request as I slipped right out of my restraints, which I untied earlier. I slowly elevated myself onto my feet as both doctors were faced away. I was still in my hospital gown, which sucked but there wasn't anything I could do. I walked over to the hospital room's door and opened it. Perhaps they shouldn't have let both officers off on a coffee break.

"Alex, you can't leave!" Both doctors followed me into the hallway, Diaz in in front of me just backing up to match my pace, nervously laughing in the process. Eventually we all three stopped at the elevator, I pressed the button and entered the shaft. The two doctors just sat outside the door, not wanting to enter.

"If you'd please just talk to us, we could solve " The door shut in his face; I half smiled at that.

Nick's POV - Scene 4.5 - 8:35 AM - Wednesday

"If you'd please just hear me out, it'd make more sense." I insisted to the two officers, who were rather skeptical of my reasoning for seeing Alex.

"He could have killed you if those officers weren't there to stop him!" The rhino countered. I don't think he would have done that, maybe another hit, but kill me? No.

"That's what I need to talk to him about!" I shouted. The elevator next to the one I planned on using opened up, and the wolf of the hour walked out. The two officers passively took to my sides, probably just in case.

"Nick." Alex whispered. I was worried, but also scared to talk to him, not because he hit me, because he is my friend. "I would never," He choked on his own words, stopping himself. "I would never hurt you or Judy." He stammered. I could feel the pain radiating off of him. "When I meet Dr. Harris again, I'll kill him." He clutched his fist. "I'll show him how it feels," He trembled, "how it feels to be truly evil." He fell to his knees. "He tried to make me a killer, and he almost succeeded." He sniffled.I approached him with a smile to the officers surprise.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm sure you didn't mean to "

"He would've succeeded if it wasn't for the officers." He leaned onto all fours. He was nearing the line of growling. I held a paw up to stop the two officers behind me from following me to his side.

"Up you go." I grunted as I placed both paws under Alex's arms and lifted him back onto his knees. He was still slightly taller than me, even though he was knelt. "Come here." I awkwardly pulled him into a hug. Yesterday was understandable, but the two officers present probably thought I was insane. I knew Alex wouldn't want to actually hurt me, and I knew Dr. Harris was behind it, but I didn't want him to sit in the hospital wondering if I hated him because of it.

"He had a fox torture me, and they kept saying your name." He croaked as I pulled away. Now I hated that damn panda even more than before.

"What do you say we get the hell out of here?" I said with a smile. Alex simply nodded.

"Letting you two see each other is one thing, but letting you leave is a joke?" The tiger said behind me.

"Try and stop me." Alex growled as he stood up. "I was injected with a syringe of whatever the hell worth more than your god damn life." He snorted. This took everyone by surprise, not only did I not know that, but he was surprisingly aggressive.

"What the hell was that?" I growled as the two of us left the hospital. Alex seemed tired an distraught like before.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that." He apologized. "I should have said something before, Ivan stole this syringe, telling me to keep it from them at all costs, and the only way to keep it away from Dr. Harris was to inject myself with it." He sighed. Great, so now Alex is insane. I opened my passenger door for him and walked around to the other side. "This is your car?" He snickered, making me roll my eyes.

"Why do you think I always ride with Carrots." I answered, the engine choking up what it had left in it.

"Good point." Alex kicked back in the seat. He seemed okay now, luckily.

"I forgive you." I said, making his smile fade. He sighed, and looked out the window as we left the hospital.

Judy's POV - Scene 5 - 7:50 AM - Wednesday

I took my seat across from Ivan at the cafe. I took him here because it's public, but it was infested with other officers who could be eavesdropping. I had already gotten coffee, and so did Ivan, which was pretty funny considering our conversation at the police department.

"Okay, now I'll fulfill my part of the deal." He said, "So, where we left off, my father was dead, lying in the hospital. You've got to promise not to relay this to a soul." He cut himself off. I hesitated but figured it would be the only way to get the rest out of him.

"Yes, I promise not to relay this to a soul." I said with a paw held to my side as if I was giving an oath.

"Okay, so anyways, that fox in the interrogation room, you remember him, yes? He killed my father, some twenty years ago." He said sternly. "When I learned this, several years ago, it was too late. This fox character had already been integrated into every system there was, killing him was a death sentence, for both of us. Not only that, I worked with Dr. Harris, a close associate of his, so double that death sentence. However, I no longer work for Dr. Harris and I know where the fox is, I can get my revenge." He snarled. That was a lot to take in.

"Why not just have us arrest him?" I questioned, as his plan was obviously faulted. He chuckled in response.

"I want to do this, not the ZPD. He deserved punishment by my paws only." He squinted his eyes.

"Also, why would he kill your father?" I asked carefully, not wanting to upset him.

"My father was informed about the super soldier project, and after receiving tons of information of this classified idea, he declined. They didn't want to risk him telling anyone, not even himself." He leaned onto the table, gently pushing his coffee aside.

"That's terrible." That was all I could think of at the time.

"I later dug my way into their little system and they hired me to my surprise." He shrugged, "I took the hard way, and for that, I think I deserved to drink coffee. It was kill or be killed in that line of work." He sipped on his coffee for the first time since we sat down. "You know, I didn't just save Alex 'to be the good guy'." I looked back up from my coffee to him, he was very serious. "I saved Alex because I didn't want him to be tortured into being the bad guy, and because we hung out after work quite often." He sighed, he must've been waiting to get that off his chest. Something he said was questionable, however.

"What do you mean 'be the bad guy'?" Ivan probably saw that question coming, but maybe he thought we talked to Alex about it already.

"Alex was tortured, being broken down in order to achieve the perfect soldier, a broken mammal." Ivan paused for a moment to take a sip of coffee. "However, that's not the perfect soldier, Dr. Harris wants emotionless, ruthless, followers, and he wanted to turn Alex against you guys. That fox I mentioned, he tortured Alex's body and mind." He finished, my eyes widening. That's why Alex hit Nick!

"Speaking of foxes, I wanted to talk about Nick." Ivan began, "I'm glad I didn't end up killing him, not only because then you would have killed me, but because he doesn't deserve it. He may not be perfect, but he has a lot going for him. I'm honestly surprised he doesn't have a significant other." I furrowed my eyebrows when he finished.

"Yeah." I faked a small laugh. Ivan took one big sip of his coffee and placed it down.

"Well, if you plan on taking me back to the ZPD, I wouldn't be upset." He shrugged his shoulders.

"I do, but not to have you placed in an interrogation room." I grinned back deviously, making his raise an eyebrow.

Alex's POV - Scene 6 - 2:00 PM - Wednesday

I picked up a dumbbell in each paw and began doing a set of curls. Nick and I decided to pass the time by working out at his place, and it gave us something else to do other than talk, as his apartment wasn't exactly the most exciting. Nick was only working with one arm at a time, the other looking at his phone.

"Judy is going to be surprised when she shows up." He chuckled. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"She's coming here? Now?" In all honesty I didn't want to talk to her right now, I barely wanted to even think about what I did to Nick, I just wanted it to go away.

"Nope, but she will, trust me, she always comes back." He laughed, obviously joking. I joined in with a smile.

"Can I tell you something?" The fox asked carefully, sounding rather serious.

"You can tell me anything." I answered with the most generic response to that ever.

"It's about Judy." He looked away from me, staring at the ceiling. "DAMN!" Nick dropped his weight on his foot, falling to the floor.

"Shake it off." I held back from smiling. Nick rolled over onto all fours, and stayed there. His arms began shaking, and starting panting. "Nick?" I dropped my weights and jogged over to his side. Instantly I remembered what was happening. He dropped his arms to his side and collapsed on the floor. He rolled to his side and clutched his chest with one paw. He was breathing so quick he might as well just sprinted a mile. I placed a paw on his shoulder and waited, there was nothing else I could do. An entire two minutes passed, and I was growing increasingly worried, he didn't pass out but was still trembling in pain. His tongue was hanging out of his mouth as his breathing slowed down, instead taking large, slow breaths. "Is it over?" I asked him.

"Yeah I think so." He sighed heavily. Without warning I picked him up off the floor and laid him on the couch.

"I'll be right back, stay there." I instructed and headed into the kitchen. I threw open each and every cupboard, including the fridge, and only found a few items worth taking. Two water bottles, a can of peas, tuna, a can of pringles, two apples, and a unopened container of cockroaches, not favorite, but Nick apparently likes them. I prepared the peas and the tuna and carried all the food to the living room, where Nick was now sitting up groggily. I didn't even have to tell Nick to start eating as he already was. "Hungry, eh?" I smiled and sat down next to him. He nodded his head as he unscrewed a water bottle as he tore into an apple.

"Thank you." He muttered through a mouth full of apple before taking a swig of water.

"Remember, an apple a day keeps Dr. Harris away." I lightly elbowed his shoulder. He spit up a small bit of water as he held in laughter.

Author's Note

Hooray! Two chapters in three days, what?! Hope you enjoyed, don't forget to leave a review with your criticism, opinion, or general thoughts on this chapter. It may be a bit longer for another chapter, but we will see.

Fun facts about this chapter!

1\. In my first plan, Judy and Nick were going to go to the hospital together in the morning.

2\. Ivan and Judy were originally going to go to Nick's apartment and find him watching TV in his boxers.

3\. Ivan's dad was never originally going to be mentioned, or anything about 'taking the easy way out'.

4\. I realized that the officers would've stopped Alex from leaving his hospital room after writing the scene, so I had to make up an excuse for them to not be in the room.

5\. I didn't mention that the front desk lady at the hospital was a pig again because it feels like an insult, and because you already know that.

6\. The four main characters at this point, Judy, Nick, Ivan, and Alex, have all been paired up in every combination possible. (Ivan Alex) (Nick Judy) (Nick Alex) (Judy Ivan) (Nick Ivan) (Judy Alex)

Stay patient, my fellow readers...


	13. Chapter 13 - Dodging a Bullet

Author's Note

A friendly individual gave me advice, which I will be taking. I won't be switching POV's like crazy as I have in the more recent chapters. I'll try my best to stick to one or two switches throughout chapters, or none at all. This leaves more room for character developement, but I fear it could make the story less interesting, but how I plan on doing this is to show different scenes as different chapters instead of cramming it all into one chapter; this also means it could be shorter, but we will see.

Alex's POV

After a few hours of Nick's apartment, we headed to the ZPD. We met up with Judy near the front desk, who requested us to be there in the first place. I scratched behind my ears as we paced over to the bunny, I heard voices, itching inside.

"Alex is here, I've got to have a word with him anyways, don't forget what I told you, Evans." I heard Chief Bogo say, I looked around anxiously, but didn't see him. Evans was the tiger, right?

"I filed those reports, took me long enough, you owe me coffee, and that's still scraping the minimum." I heard a deep, annoyed voice echo in my head.

"My mom is making spaghetti tonight, can't stay much longer, show me so I can go." I heard a higher, raspy voice. I looked around once again, confused.

"Alex." I heard a faded, but familiar voice. "Alex." I heard the voice again, along with a few snaps. I blinked a few times and looked at Nick, who had his paw in front of me.

"Yes?" I muttered, still collecting myself.

"You get enough sleep in that hospital? Did they disect you all night or something?" He chuckled, as much as he was joking, he was partly correct, they did do a few strange tests on me.

"Yeah, if you look closely, you can almost see the scars." I followed through, making everyone, including Clawhauser, laugh, but that wasn't very surprising.

"Alex, I need to have a word with you." Chief Bogo's voice entered my ears, luckily this time I was able to spot him, he was walking over from behind Judy and Nick.

"Yes sir." I said, taking a pause, "Your office or...?" I dragged on the end, waiting for him to interupt me.

"I would prefer, yes. Nick, Judy, you two come or stay, up to you." He waved a hoof, heading back towards the stairs. I followed, pondering what he would have to say to me. Nick and Judy of course followed close behind, all three of us lined up as we acsended the stairs. Bogo closed the door behind us as he entered his office, he took his seat across from us.

"Alex, not sure if you are aware of this already, but you and Ivan have been quiet the magnets for attention recently." He generalized, making me on edge, but wanting to hear the rest. All three of us stayed quiet, awaiting the rest of his story. "The general public is forming their opinions about your credibility as an officer and Ivan's sentence for jail time." He said flat out, luckily looking less angry and more disappointed.

"That's ridiculous, well at least for Alex." Judy jumped in, leaning forward. Nick was looking at the ground however, clearly thinking.

"Ridiculous is part of life." Bogo groaned, leaning back in his chair.

"I may be losing my job?" I gulped quietly, not in anger, but rather sorrow. Bogo quickily sat up, leaning over his desk.

"No," He paused, awaiting my change of expression for only a brief moment, "Alex, you're a hell of an officer to the ZPD, I am merely stating the facts. Without you, Mr. Wilde here would be dead, and we'd have less hospital bills to cover." He said, not getting any laughs for the joke at the end.

"I understand where they're coming from though." Nick interupted the awkward silence from Bogo's joke.

"Nick!" Judy slapped the fox on the arm, not too hard, obviously.

"No really, he has commited crimes, technically, and some mammals sadly won't ever be content." He shrugged his shoulders.

"Like you've never commited any crimes." Judy muttered, making Bogo and I pulled our head backs slightly in fear of getting between the two of them.

"You didn't seem to care the day I joined the force." He smiled, making Judy sigh heavily.

"Okay, I should have waited to bring this up, we will discuss this further another day." Bogo interupted the pair. "I have a conferenced scheduled in about five minutes in order to discuss our stratagey for catching Dr. Harris, and you three will be there." He instructed, checking his watch for the time.

"Yes sir." We all three said out of sync before getting up from our seats. I lead as we took to the door, taking us towards the conference room. As we arrived, several other mammals were still entering, and some were already seated. There was about twelve of us by the time everyone had taken their seat.

"We are gathered here to discuss this individual." A rhino exclaimed, pointed to a picture of Dr. Harris, which was taped to a board on a kick stand aside the table. "We need a plan to find him, and soon, he could lay a game changer on us at any minute, and we have to be ready." He explained. That made sense, but there was really no way to catch him, as far as I could tell. The mammals around us started talking amongst each other, rather unorderly if you ask me. Guess it was brainstorm time.

"Oh yeah! Alex, we have a certain jaguar that should be here." Judy said from beside me, seated between Nick and I. Ivan was in the cafeteria, I forgot.

"Go fetch him, I'm sure you won't miss anything." She said, shooing me with a paw. I smiled and exited the conference room as everyone talked over one another. The cafeteria, why would Ivan even need to go there? Hopefully Judy sent him with supervision, I would assume so, since she didn't seem to trust him one bit since I last saw them together. I strolled down the hallway, seeing nothing but, as many of the mammals were in the conference room or where just not in the general area. As I neared the cafeteria, my ears twitched.

"We are in the middle of a police station, I know how careful you are." I heard a pretty heavy english accent pick up. The cafeteria doors pealed into view, and I slowly slid my head into view. I saw Ivan sitting at a long cafeteria table, the ones with attached stools. Across from his was a fox, probably the one that spoke only a moment ago. They both calmly sat there, sitting up straight, professionally.

"Why did you come to my 'interrogation'?" Ivan disregarded whatever the fox previously was talking about, which I hadn't a clue.

"I had to tell you not to open your trap." The fox whispered, but I could still hear his voice in my ears broad as daylight. No one else was present in the cafeteria but the two, unsure why the fox had to whisper in the first place.

"My father didn't open his." Ivan gritted his teeth, leaning forward slightly. A slick smile crept up the fox's face, leaning back only slightly. I felt bad for eavesdropping, but this seemed like something they'd kill me for listening in on without their consent, let alone walking in on them.

"Ivan, I consider you a friend, regardless of your current affiliation with Dr. Harris." He chuckled, trying to remain serious. Ivan retained his neutral stance, slouching, however.

"You will never be my friend." He muttered, his anger dying out. The fox sighed lightly.

"Your father and I were pretty close. As a matter of fact " The fox was cut off by Ivan quickly lunging over the table and grappling the fox by his shirt. My eyes widened as Ivan tore him from his seat and slammed the fox on his back behind him. The fox gasped as Ivan kicked him in the ribs, moving his whole body in the grusome process. Ivan punched him in the snout while still lying on the ground, the fox raised his paws in defense, but Ivan pushed past them and grabbed him by the shirt once more. I watched in horro as Ivan half tossed half slid him into the stools of the cafeteria tables. The fox barely managed to sit up as Ivan slowly loomed over, raising his shaking fist: the killing blow. My instincts finaly took over, and I charged into the room, tackling Ivan in a matter of mere seconds. I remained on my feet, stumbling a bit, as Ivan flew to the floor, sliding a few feet. He quickly spun to his feet, remaining a slow posture to stay balanced.

"Move." Ivan gritted his teeth, but remained still. The fox got to his feet, with a bit of trouble, before taking cover a few feet behind my tail. I stood my guard for a few more moments as Ivan awaited me to move, but I'm sure he knew I wasn't going anywhere.

"Never take the easy way out." The fox taunted, obviously refering Ivan killing him, which I guess would be so. Ivan growled, his growl wasn't what I would consider normal, it was more of a blood fueled rage kind of growl. I slightly trembled awaiting Ivan's response to those words, unsure if they had any symbolic meaning or not. Ivan lunged forward at me, and reached towards my vest with open paws, he was going to either try to push me or throw me aside. I was quick to push his paws down, backing up only slightly. Rejecting his attempt only made him angrier, and he swung a low kick towards me. I instantly shifted downwards, grabbing the kick with both paws, before dropping one to defend myself.

He threw a jab with his fist, and I shifted my head aside, watching it breeze right past my ear. Ivan used the same paw to grab my shoulder, and his last standing leg toppled backwards. I fell down with the jaguar below me, before he flung me over top, sending me down the cafeteria, skidding to a halt on my back. Ivan, however, did a backflip from the ground to his feet, using the momentum plus his strength to succeed. I recollected myself, rolling over and watching as Ivan sprinted towards the fox that was stumbling towards the door. The fox turned around and raised his paws, begging Ivan to stop. He scooped the fox up with a single paw, grasping his neck and raising him high into the hair. The fox tore at Ivan's paw, but his attempt to get his neck free was futile. I ran up behind him and kicked out one of his legs, and using both paws to wrangle his metal chest. In surprise, Ivan released the fox, right before I swung him off the ground, falling onto my back, a crack echoed through the room. I quickly dropped to my knees and landed on Ivan, his eyes were half closed, and his jaw hanging open naturally, as he was panting just like me. His eyes sprung open as he swung a fist at me once again. I grabbed his knuckles, pushing them aside to avoid getting hit. I let out a slight roar as I slammed my other fist in his snout as hard as I could.

I slumped off of Ivan, down on all fours, looking up at the fox who was still climbing onto his trembling legs. Ivan was out cold, a victory, yet a lose. I sighed heavily, catching the fox's attention, who fell back to a sitting position, using his arms to prop up his angled back.

"It's funny," I wheezed in exhaust, "You're one of the three foxes I've met in the last few days." I chuckled. My smile remained as I furrowed my eyebrows. "Yet you look just like the other two." I laughed along side my panting. The fox looked so uncomfortable, which is exactly how I felt in that damn cell. "Don'tcha, Elliot." I said slowly, climbing to my legs.

"What are you talking about?" He stammered, trying to get back to his feet as well.

"You do a mean French accent, you know that." I said, towering over him. I was the angry one now, but I don't think I'd hurt him, only make him think I would. He chuckled so nervously I could have sworn he was me giving a speech in fourth grade.

"I'm sure we can resolve this in a different way..." He sputtered, slowly pushing himself backwards on the floor, away from me. I leaned down and picked him up by his shirt, similar to Ivan earlier. I hoisted him to his feet and placed him down. His shoulders pressed against his neck as I looked down at him. This was a grown mammal, I shit you not.

"Are you scared because you heard about the hospital incident? I assure you your pathetic attempt to brainwash me only half worked." I whispered in his ear sadistically, making him pull his head back even further. I heard a growl from behind, spinning myself around only to see an injured and exhausted Ivan wobbling on his legs. He slowly reached behind himself and pulled out a pistol. My heart sank, was he really willing to shoot me to get the fox?

"Get outta my whey." He slurred, slowly moving towards Elliot and I, if that even is his name. "MOVE OUTTA THE DAMN WAY!" He yelled so loud that the officers probably could hear it, regardless of how loud they were. My brain told me to move, but my heart forced me to stay, no matter what Elliot did, I didn't want to see his head blown open.

"No." I stammered, my breath shaking heavily. Ivan's anger didn't subside, and he cocked the gun. I expected him to instead try to move me physically, but the jaguar's arm tensed, his index finger followed. My eyes widened and used my right leg to kick the fox behind me to the ground. The crackling explosion of the gun flooded my ears, startling me. I snapped my head to the side, my spine swerved as well. I watched as the bullet passed my head by an inch, smoke following behind it. The bullet tore into the wall, before not a sound was heard but the tink of a casing bouncing across the floor. Ivan's pure rage faded, and he instead looked shocked. He dropped the gun, and looked down as it fell.

"He murdered my father." He murmured. I suspected it was something like that, but damn. He leveled his head to face me again. "Because he declined to partake in the super soldier project, the same one that made me into, well, this." He said, moving his paws through the air across his chest. That makes me hate the fox even more, but I still refused to let him die. While processing all of this, half my brain was still squirming over the fact that I dodged a bullet, literally.

Author's Note

Not the longest chapter, Nick and Judy's talk in the conference room will most likely boot the next chapter, leading into the clusterf*** that they end up finding in the cafeteria, but anyways, sorry that it's been almost a week, only to find a short chapter, I haven't written much in the last several days, actually, I finished this in one day. I've just been busy doing nothing, and sleeping, don't forget that.

Stupid Facts

1\. Ivan says to Nick that he may "possibly take one word wrong and injure someone" in a previous chapter, however, Alex ends up doing this instead.

2\. The whole fight scene was originally going to take place in the ZPD parking lot, and all the officers would have watched, I changed this since I wanted there to be more freedom in the scene, such as the other officers pulling a gun on Ivan.

3\. I didn't plan for Ivan to get back up with a gun.

4\. Ivan got his ass whooped


	14. Chapter 14 - Back Where We Started

**Author's Note**

 **Both my parent's birthdays were in the last week, so I've been pretty busy, plus fourth of July. Anyways, I proudly present, a short chapter.**

* * *

 **Judy's POV**

"Quiet down everyone! Let's take this one at a time!" Nick shouted from my side, he was sitting in the chair right next to me. The conference was barely on the subject of Dr. Harris, like it should be.

"Don't you think it's a bit ridiculous that Ivan, let alone Alex, are both walking around, treated as if there was no wrong doing?" One officer shouted, while others repeated similar things or argued the point.

"Alex saved Nick's life!" I leaned onto the table, standing up due to my height.

"What about Ivan? You let him go to the cafeteria!" I knew he was right, about that being a bit lenient, but Ivan did have a way with words. In fact, Ivan has done nothing but be nice since I took him to the cafe.

"There is no harm in letting him have some freedom." I collected myself, however, the other mammals only got slightly less noisy as they continued arguing.

"The only lead we have is the address Ivan gave us earlier." Evans said, trying to change the subject, standing up and holding a slip of paper between two claws.

"MOVE OUTTA THE DAMN WAY!" The conference halted, a faint echo bounced through the room. Everyone remained still, confused, but suspicious. A loud bang broke the silence, making all the officers jump to the feet to leave the room. I was quick to push past the other officers, knowing Alex went to fetch Ivan in the cafeteria. A horde of officers followed behind me to the cafeteria doors. I didn't even get to enter the room and I was confused, and a bit scared. There was a fox, Ivan, and Alex. Multiple officers grappled Ivan and pushed him to the floor, as Alex sat against the wall left of the entrance. An officer scooped up the injured fox and Alex was swarmed by the ZPD as he explained what happened.

I clenched my fists, knowing what had happened already. I knew who the fox was, Ivan told me. I promised not to tell anyone, but I didn't think by 'wanting to do it himself' he meant try to kill him. Ivan was taken away along with the fox, leaving a gun on the floor. The last few remaining officers walked Alex out, one taking the gun off the floor. I stayed a few feet back from the rest of the group as we headed for the lobby. Nick noticed this and slowed his pace, falling back to me.

"You okay Carrots?" He arched his back. I looked down at the floor, trying to figure out where Ivan shooting a gun came into play. Ivan, Alex, and fox were in the room, the last two being together, and Ivan was alone in the middle of the room. There was a hole in the wall near Alex and the fox, but if he missed, why wouldn't he shoot again? It didn't make sense, I'd have to ask Alex.

"Yeah I'm fine." I responded, not making eye contact. Nick returned to his normal posture, which meant he probably accepted my answer. I felt his paw drift across my back onto my opposite shoulder.

"I'm sure Ivan didn't mean it." He spoke, almost to himself it seemed. I glanced up at him, his eyes paying no attention to me. I looked ahead and saw Alex shying away the other officers who accompanied him. He stopped in his tracks and they continued to the lobby. He turned to face Nick and I, a smile on his face.

"Hey, we got an address which is apparently our only lead, not the one from before, as that turned out to be nothing." Nick began. "The address is apparently the parents of someone hired by Dr. Harris." He raised his eyebrows, saying it like it was a tease. Alex chuckled, how could they be so casual after what just happened?

"Wish we could be the ones to bust down the doors." Alex stretched his arms out with a yawn.

"No door busting, just a bit of lies and creative thinking and we should be able to find our guy." Nick snapped his fingers in Alex's direction.

"No creative thinking until you tell me what happened in there." I interrupted sternly, making Alex scratch the back of his head, somewhat nervous.

"Fine, but can we find somewhere more comfortable? My legs are killing me." Those are terms I could agree with.

 **Nick's POV**

I threw my legs up on the dashboard of our police cruiser, Alex was in the driver's seat. We both watched as Evans made his way down the street to the front door of the address Ivan gave us, which was in the Rainforest district. The place seemed pretty familiar now that I thought about it; dropping my legs, I looked closer at the location.

"I've been here before." I said, catching Alex's attention, who was looking at Evans down the street.

"Really? On duty or...?" He dragged on, wanting me to interrupt him.

"On duty, Judy and I were at that house." I quietly spoke, regardless that only Alex could hear me anyways. I pointed at Evans who was knocking on the front door of a small home on the edge of town.

"Good thing we didn't send you to the front door!" Alex laughed, elbowing my shoulder. Yeah that would have ruined our entire plan, since Evans was acting as an old friend of whatever mammal Dr. Harris hired.

"Our speakers here should pick up." Alex said slowly, fiddling with some buttons on the police radio.

"Good evening, can I help you young man?" I heard the familiar old black panther through the radio.

"Yes I was wondering if your son is home, I was told I could find him here." Evans said, sounding somewhat smooth. If he started stuttering that'd probably seem suspicious, well, at least to anyone but a sweet old lady.

"Oh dear, I'm afraid he won't be here anytime soon." She said, Alex and I were also trying to look down the street to see Evans and her, but it wasn't of any value, as we could barely see the both of them behind the bushes and trees, let alone the distance.

"You sure?" Evans questioned nervously.

"Well my son was in a terrible car accident recently, he didn't make it." She choked on the ending, damn, so he's dead. Not quite sure it was an accident, however. "His son still visits me, however." She finished very quietly.

"Who?" Evans pushed for more.

"My grandson, Miles. Such a sweet boy, he comes over every Thursday for lunch." She distracted herself from her son's previously mentioned death. Alex and I were now both arched over the radio, impatiently waiting for more.

"So how's it finding a job for him? I heard jobs aren't easy to find at this time of year." Evans risked, maybe he didn't even consider that this kid could possibly be under the age of ten.

"Actually he was telling me about his new job just last week." She remembered. "He doesn't like to say too much, but he mentioned it was a security job, protection maybe." She sighed.

"You said every Thursday he comes here?" He asked, but caught himself from sounding like a weirdo. "I'm an old friend of his and his fathers, surprisingly I've never met you." He said with a smile. Was she buying it?

"Oh yes, every Thursday, you're welcome to join us tomorrow if you like!" She said with glee, making Alex and I both smile widely at each other. "What's your name?" She asked.

"Just call me Evans, and don't tell him I'm coming, I haven't seen him in forever and I want it to be a surprise." He fake whispered, making her laugh.

"Okay, just show up around noon tomorrow and he'll be here." The panther informed him.

"Alright, I best be going, see you tomorrow!" I saw Evans step away from the house and wave to her.

"Bye dear!" The voice of the panther faded as Evans distanced himself. After a few moments Evans dove into the backseat.

"How about a crisp high five?" He held up a paw, leaning to meet our sides. Alex slammed his paw against his and I followed.

"Ivan told us it was her son not her grandson." Alex said, "I'll make sure to scold him for that." He said, taking the steering wheel in both paws.

"Whoo!" I elbowed the seat. The three of us took off down the street, laughing at our success. We headed for the ZPD of course, as we wanted to brag to everyone. Kidding, we wanted to plan our next step, obviously. As we pulled into the parking lot, Judy met up with us as we exited the car.

"Tell me everything." Carrots insisted as the four of us walked towards the ZPD. I heaved a single 'heh', maybe I'd tease her a bit.

"Well, there was quite the stakeout." I began quietly, making Judy only look more eager to hear about it.

"What'd you find?" She pushed on, smiling wider. Evans and Alex were holding back laughter as they already knew I was full of shit.

"Well for starters, Alex almost got us caught, luckily no guns were drawn." I lied.

"Judy, he's full of shit." Evans whispers very quietly in the silence. Judy punched my shoulder, making me wince.

"What really happened?" She grouched, I held back laughing out loud as she'd punch me again.

"Nothing really, but we should find our guy tomorrow." I over simplified.

"Fine." She sighed as we made our way into the lobby.

"Good news?" Clawhauser asked, almost as excited as Judy when we arrived.

"Yeah, we should catch our guy tomorrow, hopefully." Alex said before I could. "Tell you guys what, we'll tell Bogo and whoever else asks the good news, then us four are headed to the nearest bar." He elbowed Evans and me as he finished.

"Do you even know what time it is?" Judy countered, but Alex just laughed.

"I don't drink often, but anytime is the right time for me." He said calmly, walking up the stairs towards Bogo's office, with everyone else following a few paces behind.

After the long celebration with the gang, I headed home. Alone. The nighttime sky was yelling at me to go to sleep. I trudged through the front door and stretched. I was indeed tired. I silently made my way to the couch and plopped down. Falling asleep sitting up wouldn't be a problem at the moment. I looked down at myself and almost forgot about my attire once again. I took of my uniform and hung it neatly in my bedroom closet and returned to the couch. Boxers and tank-top, my favorite. I scratched my arm roughly, digging for the itch that lied beneath. I wiped off my arm in surprise, brushing a small bit of fur to the floor; shedding wasn't always a big thing for me. I sat in silence for a few moments before springing up from the couch. Pushing through the bathroom door, I leaned over the counter, looking into the mirror. I grabbed my arm with my paw and tugged a bit here and there. I tossed a small handful of fur into the sink and washed it down. It was barely noticeable where fur was stolen from my arm.

I pulled out another tuft, then another, each time making me curious but also scared. I hunched over the sink and puked, but not much made its way out. My mouth quivered as I gasped for breath, my throat burning. I quickly rinsed the fur and puke mixture down the sink, as it wasn't a pretty sight, before taking a few drinks of water. I pushed myself up from the counter, and stumbled backwards, leaning against the wall. Blinking did nothing to rid my eyes of the blurry vision they obtained. A slamming entered my ears, making me think I was dying. I shook my head left to right to try to clear the noise. Someone was knocking on my door. I pushed my head forward, using the momentum to get off the wall. I threw an arm out of the counter and a paw on the door knob in a hope to catch myself, but I fell flat on my face. My body gave up, and I slowly closed my eyes and fell to slumber, the knocking drowning itself out in my mind.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Hope you enjoyed the chapter, regardless of the length, I've been busy lately, but wanted to get something out there.**

 **Stupid Facts**

 **1\. I was originally going to make Alex say "It's happy hour somewhere in the world." as a response to Judy's time question, but I figured the Overwatch reference would be too forced.**

 **2\. Nick was originally going to have a phone call, which I won't tell you what it was going to be about, before heading to the bathroom.**

 **3\. Nick was supposed to puke in the toilet (Whoa, how interesting!)**

 **4\. Nick didn't sign up for this shit.**

 **Quick question that you can answer if you decide to leave a review, Ivan, his family's association with the super soldier project, and 'Elliot' the fox have a pretty cool backstory, would you guys be interested in more of it being brought up in the future, maybe a chapter around it sometime?**

 **Don't forget to review...**


	15. Chapter 15 - Focus on Now

**Author's Note**

 **I proudly present chapter 15, which I hope is better than last chapter! Happy late Fourth of July, hope you enjoy the read.**

* * *

 **Nick's POV**

"Boo." I jumped as a deep voice hit me in the face. Finnick, my long time friend was standing on my knees looking me in the face. He looked exhausted, but held a slight smile.

"How'd you get in here." I groaned, rubbing my eyes as he rolled over next to me on the couch. Sure I was glad to see him, being used to seeing him everyday was the cause of that. It was still dark outside, I noted, looking out the window to the left.

"You left the kitchen window unlocked." He muttered, "I had to cut the screen open." Damn it. As long as he paid for it, it wasn't a big deal. "I can't pay for it, I was knocking and heard a bang, that's all." He sunk into the couch, damn it.

"How long was I out?" I asked, looking forward at the blank TV screen.

"It's 2:00 A.M., so around four hours." Finnick shrugged, there goes a good night sleep. I still was curious as to why Finnick showed up here in the first place. "What's the hell is up with you." He whispered, squinting his eyes and turning his upper body to face me.

"I guess I drank too much." I lied, even though that could be part of it. He wasn't buying it, I could tell. Did he know about what I've been into recently?

"I watch the news, Nick. You're quite the hit." He groaned, so he probably did know at least part of it.

"I'm sorry for screwing you over." I sighed, I knew he wanted to hear that. "I just got caught up with living 'normal' that I never thought about what it meant to you." That sounded a little overdone, too emotional, sappy? Whatever you call it.

"Guessing you got the opposite?" He said, ignoring my apology, luckily. I didn't want to talk about that part anyways. I leaned over and planted my elbows on my knees, and my paws held up my head.

"I was shot around a dozen times in the span of about a week, not to mention I'm basically a super mammal." I simplified, Finnick looked surprise, so I guess he didn't know too much about the subject.

"I thought I had it bad, selling my body to pay rent." He laughed, making my eyes widen. "I'm joking, but I do struggle to pay rent." He serioused up, making me roll my eyes.

"So why'd you come here in the first place?" I asked, leaning back into the couch, my back arching as I slid down.

"I came to ask you a huge favor." He scratched his head, sounding a bit nervous. "Nick, you're the closest friend I have, sure I have others, but you're more like family to me. We grew up together." What could I have that he needed? "I got kicked out of my place, and was wondering if I could sleep here for a bit, I won't be here often, just need somewhere to crash." Was he really considering I'd say no to that?

"Sure." I shrugged my shoulders. He looked pretty happy, but dropped the smile once he saw me looking.

"Alright, well I'm exhausted, I was just waiting for you to wake up." He yawned. "Where will I be sleeping?"

"The floor work for you?" I asked, making him flinch a bit. "Joking, take the couch, next time you get the mattress on my bedroom floor.

"You don't sleep in your room?" He raised an eyebrow. I exhaled through my nose before responding.

"Not much, not sure why though, I just have a special bond with this couch." I entwined my fingers. "Lot's of threesomes have happened here." I slapped the couch beside me.

"Sure they have, we both know you don't get nothing." Finnick laughed, and I joined in as he fell to his side with a pillow below his head.

"Truth be told, I had a girl in my car once, only $200 out of my wallet." I stood up and stretched. Finnick's closed his eyes and was still gently laughing.

"You of all mammals would pay a girl to give you a kiss on the cheek." He sighed and rolled over, now facing the back of the couch.

"Lips." I continued as I left the room to get something to eat. I wasn't lying about the $200, I didn't have time for relationships at the time, sure I would've liked one, but my con-artist work didn't allow it. The kitchen lights turned on, the orange blended well with my fur as I opened the fridge. Luckily I did get some groceries yesterday during our off time, just a few things, milk, cereal, blueberries of course, and a few canned goods.

I poured a bowl of lucky chomps, then the milk and tossed a spoon into it. I carefully carried it back to the coffee table. Finnick was small so there was still plenty of room for me to sit down. I looked over at him, and it was obvious that he was out cold. The cold milk in the cereal helped wake me up, even though I was already pretty awake, four hours of sleep wasn't good for anyone, especially me. After finishing the cereal, I slurped up the remaining milk and laid the bowl back down. I dropped back and my head fell onto the back of the couch. The ceiling was dimly lit by the orange lamp next to the couch, but my mind drifted else where. What would happen if I died, just now? Who would Finnick tell first? How would Judy react? Who would miss me, who wouldn't?

I sat up and shook my head lightly. I pulled out my phone and went to my camera roll, scrolling through pictures of Judy and I. Almost every picture was of us, mostly because nothing else was worthy, just her. I looked over at Finnick, who was as said, out cold. I carefull reached into his left pocket and retrieved his wallet, I knew he kept it in his left pocket all the time, made him feel organized. I then went to my bedroom, I stepped over the pile of dirty clothes, and grabbed my wallet from my night stand, which was next to my matress, no frame. I took out a few hundred dollars and slipped the bills into Finnick's wallet. I slid the wallet back into his pocket after returning to the living room, he'd figure it out when he wakes up. Odds are I won't be around to see him wake up, as the ZPD will be awaiting me.

After a few good hours of staring at the ceiling and checking my phone, I threw on my police uniform and stared into the bathroom mirror, making sure I looked presentable. I grabbed my phone, keys, and wallet before diving into my car. My phone said 6:30 AM, sure, because of my soring success with being an attention magnet I could really come in anytime, but being on Chief Bogo's good side is pretty useful. I stopped at the gas station to get some gas, and to grab a few snack bars for our sit out at Helen's house later today. The cashier, who was a pig, rung my three energy bars up, and they looked like they wanted to die. Joking aside, they looked exhausted. I'm not surprised, since it really early in the morning.

"Wait a minute..." The cashier said slowly, his exhaustion fading, "You're that fox, the one on the news!" He placed both hooves on the counter.

"I think that would be correct." I sighed as I handed him my money.

"You're badass, lemme tell yah." He chuckled, I liked being complimented, but in this context it felt weird, it wasn't often that complete strangers knew who I was.

"Surely. If you don't mind me asking, what'd you hear about me?" I asked as I took my energy bars. He thought for a moment, placing a hoof on his forehead.

"Well, you've survived the impossible, saved a criminal's life, oh yeah, and you can cure cancer!" He smiled with his eyes closed. What the hell did he just say?

"Cure cancer?" I questioned slowly, stuffing the energy bars in my pocket next to my wallet. He looked confused as to why I questioned it, he probably thinks I pay attention to the media.

"Well yeah, there was a talk show that discussed it. You know, how your body heals itself rapidly, they went like full on science and shit." He explained. As awesome as that was, I felt even weirder that people were publicly discussing my body on television.

"Well, I got to get going, have a good day." I said, leaving the gas station. That was awkward, but at least I learned something new.

"You too." He shouted as I was already out the door. I pumped my gas and drove off, ready to start the day, and meet anyone I may. Why did I say that, even in my head?

After hours of talking with Alex, Evans, Judy, and a few others at the ZPD, we were finaly almost due to head to Helen's house, where Miles would be.

"Hey guys, change of plans, we aren't making any arrests, that's for sure." Alex told Evans and I, with Judy on the side. That was weird, Alex was pretty into this yesterday.

"Why not? Pretty sure we found our guy." I said, remembering our plan to have Evans arrest Miles on the spot.

"First off, we can't just arrest him, we have no proof. Also, guess who got a permit to stalk him instead?" He sung the ending, making us chuckle lightly. "I place this here on the tire rim and we can find exactly where he is headed." Alex held up a small, black, metal rectangular device.

"A tracking device?" Evans asked, it was obvious he was just being sure.

"Yeah, only cost thirty-five bucks." He boasted in a joking manner.

"So when are we leaving?" Judy asked, I sucked air through my teeth, making a sizzling sound.

"Were only placing that thing on the car, no biggie." I said, holding my paws up in my defense. She just rolled her eyes. "We'll just head over there, slap it on and leave, that's it." Carrots seemed to accept that. Evans, Alex, and I climbed into the squad car and left the ZPD. Technically only Alex needed to go, but we had nothing better to do, and incase anything goes wrong, we will be available. I pulled out an energy bar and tore of the wrapper, taking a bite.

"You brought a snack? We aren't going to be gone that long." Evans said from the backseat. Alex looked over as well, even though he was driving.

"Nick needs his nutrition, no joke." Alex responded for me. I wanted to clarify however.

"I need to eat a lot and get a good nights sleep because of my 'super powers'. I said with air quotes, making Evans nod in understandment. "Sadly I didn't get the latter." I muttered under my breath.

"Sleeping troubles? You?" Alex teased. I'm sure he'd take it more seriously if I told him what happened.

"Yeah, I tore out fur from my arm, puked, then collapsed on the bathroom floor, fun right?" I slouched over and rolled my eyes. Alex and Evans dropped silent.

"You okay?" Evans asked, as he had no clue about my current health problems.

"Nope." I looked out the window, somewhat angry at myself for being an asshole. The rest of the ride was silent, and we made sure to hide the car more this time, parking behind a a tree. We waited for a good five minutes before a rusty truck parked on the street next to Helen's house. A black panther climbed out, bingo. Alex exited the vehicle and walked down the street in uniform, was he insane? Once he reached the car, he bent down and spun around to return to us. He jumped back in the driver's seat with a smile.

"It's realtime, so we should find our 'little gathering' in no time, maybe today or tomorrow if we are lucky." Alex started the car again and we left, just like that. I stuffed my energy bar wrapper in my shirt pocket, my miniature trash can.

"I think I'm due for desk work once we get back." I said, Alex let out a 'heh'.

"Pretty sure I'm patrolling, but who knows, it could be anything at this point." The wolf said, using one paw to steer and the other to check his phone.

"I'll be fine with whatever, if I get desk work at least I get to take a nap." Evans joked, he was always lacking sleep. How does he do it?

After arriving back at the ZPD, I was put to desk work, which I haven't done much of recently. I actually kind of missed it a bit, it was more relaxing than getting shot and hospitalized. Judy was in the desk beside me, doing her seperate work on the computer. Alex was by himself out on patrol, making it just us two this time around. I turned my head and looked at Judy, who paid me no attention as she typed away. The thought of dropping dead felt even worse as I stared into her eyes.

"Nick, you okay?" Judy leaned her head forward and looked at me.

"No." I blinked a few times. "I'm not." I felt relieved saying that, but not for what would come as a result. Judy took her arms off the keyboard and turned to face me completely, moving her legs to the side of the chair.

"You can tell me anything, Nick." She assured me. I nodded, as I already knew this.

"I'm scared Judy." I paused, looking at the floor. "I fear I may die someday." I sighed, that was an over simplification.

"Nick, don't think that way." She said with a smile, "Focus on now." Wish it was that easy, but my mind had a mind of it's own.

"I am focusing on now, sadly healthcare can't sure this." I said, running my paws over my body.

"Your body heals on its own, doesn't it?" She asked, wanting to be sure. I looked back up at her with my eyes half closed.

"I keep having those 'Heart attacks', like the one in the car, and I passed out last night, probably from drinking, but who knows." I sighed and looked to my computer screen.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Judy scolded, but sounded mostly upset. I shrugged my shoulders, but I did have a response.

"I didn't want you to worry about me." I faced her again. She was quiet for a moment, and then she went back to her computer, typing away, this time with her ears down. "I'm a dying mammal." I whispered, still looking at her. She didn't respond, so I went back to my keyboard as well. I heard Judy gently sniffling as I typed, but I didn't want to look, it was exactly why I didn't want to tell her.

...

Judy drove down the dark streets of Zootopia as I slouched in the passenger seat. I told Judy I walked to the ZPD, but I'm pretty sure she saw my car. I didn't feel like driving home, I was so tired I just wanted to sit back and look out the window. The car halted in front of my apartment, and I crawled out the door and made my way to the front door without a word.

"Can I come in?" Judy asked from behind as I opened the door. I was confused, did she not notice how tired I was?

"Judy, I'm exhausted." I sighed as Judy closed the door behind her. As I heard the door close I turned and glanced at her for a moment before continuing towards the couch. Finnick was gone as expected, as he said he'd only be here to sleep.

"Nick can we at least talk before you die on me?" Judy asked, unknowingly making a pun about me dying. "Sorry." She whispered sympathetically. "I wanted to talk about what you said in the car a few days ago." She said nervously, I knew what she was talking about.

"I'm fine with our friendship, Judy." I sighed, maybe she figured out a way to say no. I turned around slowly, gasping lightly as Judy pushed into my chest, leaning against me while her arms wrapped around my back. I never felt awkward about hugging her, I mean, we don't hug often, but it didn't matter. I placed a paw on her back and one on her head. We stayed that way for over an entire minute, I was savoring every second of it.

"I love you." She whispered so quiet I could barely hear her.

"Dumb bunny." I whispered back, making her giggle into my chest.

 **Alex's POV**

My eyes were sealed, my bare paws laid before the sidewalk, the rough concrete pressed against them. I was breathing deep, but slowly, as if I were asleep, but I was far from that.

"Hey make sure you tell Lucy I'm available tomorrow, don't want to disappoint her." I heard a clear, but nervous voice from the fourth car across the street passing the intersection.

"Damn it, forgot to get milk, I'll turn around." I heard an angry groan. My ears were moving on their own, turning to face the noises that surrounded me.

"George, I don't give a shit, do whatever." I heard a guy mutter from the other side of the intersection.

"I'm making spaghetti tomorrow, don't you forget it." I heard a girl laugh. I could smell her, she was a sheep. Not just her, but every animal. The otter was stuttering about this 'Lucy' girl, a giraffe was turning around for milk, and a bear was telling George about his shits.

I took a deep breath, a really deep one, and opened my eyes. The bear was driving a 1994 Audi Sedan, the license plate was 'BIGDAWG'. The sheep had both hands on the wheel, pressing the phone against her head with her shoulder. The otter was wearing average glasses, with Ray-Ban written on the side in cursive, and the giraffe taped his phone to his head, which was pretty amusing. I could no longer hear at all, almost as if every sound bounced off an invisible barrier around my ears. A cigarette butt bounced off the street from a passing car, the vibrations flowing up my legs. I closed my eyes once again and furrowed my eyebrows, a gritting smile erupting from my throat as I could only sense one thing, my heart beat.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Well, I enjoyed writing this chapter, especially Nick's conversations with Finnick and the cashier. Don't forget to leave a review with your thoughts, the more the merrier.**

 **Stupid Facts**

 **1\. This chapter was supposed to be longer... *cries***

 **2\. I made a Deadpool reference (Damn it)**

 **3\. I thought it'd be cool to give Alex a "Fourth-wall breaking" like ability, just lightly of course, but it'd seem kind of dumb and obviously be ripping off Deadpool, but it'd also be fun, what do you think?**

 **4\. I sometimes dislike having to specify every animal in a scene, because I keep repeating the same six mammals, but I used a few different ones in the Alex scene.**

 **5\. Sorry to those who want to hear more about Ivan and 'Elliot', hopefully they will be in the next chapter.**


	16. Chapter 16 - Angry Pizza Breath

**Author's Note**

 **Ahh yes, Alex, the main character we know least about, hell, we know more about Ivan. This chapter and possibly the next will be his time to shine, or not. In this chapter expect to see into Alex's more personal life, what he has besides his police badge.**

* * *

 **Alex's POV**

I swung open the doors to the ZPD, letting out something you could call a howl, but of course not too loud. I never meditated, but It'd be my guess that it's similar to what I just experienced.

"Alex, got a job for you." Clawhauser spoke up as I was walking past his desk. I backpedaled and stopped in front of him with a smile.

"What would that be?" I tapped my chin, sarcastically confused.

"Well, you see, the fox that Ivan attacked wishes to speak with you." Clawhauser said. He clearly didn't know much details, asking where the fox was might even be a stretch.

"Point me in the right direction." I instructed. Why would he want to speak with me? Probably because I saved his life, sounds like a short conversation, but I had nothing to do anyways.

"He's being held for questioning, and he won't speak to anyone." Clawhauser informed me, meaning he was probably where Ivan was held previously. I strolled down to the back of the ZPD and sure enough, through the one-way glass sat a light orange furred fox, alone, who looked exhausted and dead inside. An officer opened the door for me, and I took my seat across from him. I turned around and glared at the officer, and he shut the door.

"You came." The fox coughed. I don't see why that would be surprising.

"I get that a lot." I'll kill myself later for that. "Why'd you want to speak with me, specifically?" I leaned back in my chair. "Also how come you aren't in the hospital?" The fox sighed and tapped his claws on the table.

"They gave me little treatment, and deemed my injuries to be minor." He groaned, clearly upset about that. "You injected yourself with that a syringe, did you not?" He crossed his arms. I snorted and looked away.

"Did you call me in here to threaten me?" He was after all the fox who tortured me at the warehouse, so I wasn't showing any sign of weakness.

"No, I wanted to speak with you over any officer as you know more about the super soldier project than anyone in this place." He sounded only minorly offended. "First off, call me Elliot, second, I'm going to give you some good news and some bad news." He said, closing his eyes gently. "Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely by no means against Dr. Harris, but your body is worth more than I'd ever make in my life." The fox chuckled.

"So the news?" I didn't want to wait any longer to hear what he had to say, especially since he mentioned my body. No shame.

"Actually, I changed my mind. I want to make a deal." Elliot entwined his fingers and rested his elbows on the table, moving his head to the side so he could still see me.

"Changed your mind?" Was he talking about my body being worth more than his life's worth? Stop joking in your head Alex.

"I'll give you the information you need to catch Dr. Harris, in return, you are obliged to set me free, and to make sure NONE of these officers find out about my connection to that panda." He gritted his teeth. He said a second ago he wasn't against Dr. Harris, now he was throwing him under the bus, but who am I to complain.

"Okay." I agreed. It was probably the easiest choice I've ever made in my entire life, and probably the most important, sadly.

"One more thing." He smiled deviously. "Ivan doesn't breath a word about it either." Well there goes that easy decision, how could I make Ivan not say a single word about this guy? I mean, sure Ivan never said anything about it before, but now that he is locked up for it, all bets could be off.

"How would I ensure that?" I seeked answers, "Were talking about someone who just tried to murder you, and is behind bars for it!" I said a bit too loud, but this room was sound proof, so that's reassuring.

"Still a yes? Is it not?" He muttered behind his entwined fingers.

"Well, yes, but how do I know you're being genuine? About giving me Dr. Harris, of course." Elliot didn't seemed phased by this question, as he was probably expecting it.

"When you leave this room, you will make sure that camera in the corner behind me has no footage of this conversation, and you will go to a private computer. The news I spoke of earlier will be found there." Elliot whispered, gently kicking my leg under the table. I moved my paw under the table secretly, until my paw touched his. A small rectangle fell into my grasp. I pulled it back to my side, it was USB. I slid it into my pocket and stood up, just as I was about to leave Elliot make a small groan. I looked halfway back around and shook his paw before knocking on the interrogation room door. The same officer opened it and I nodded my thanks to him.

"Was the camera on?" I asked, I've asked before and it wasn't much a problem, so hopefully today's the same.

"You always tell us to leave it off when you're in there, so no." He hunched over with a smile. I strolled off towards the lobby.

"Closing out for the night?" Clawhauser asked as I passed his desk.

"Yeah, besides, it's way past my time." I could have left hours ago, but as far as things to do go, I got nothing. I pushed through the double doors and walked into the parking lot, my car sitting all alone, only a light pole to accompany it. My car exited the ZPD slowly, I was in no hurry, my eagerness to check the USB wasn't strong enough for me to press harder on the pedal. I didn't want to risk opening it on a ZPD computer, so I was taking it to the only personal computer I knew, the one sitting in my bedroom across Zootopia on an old desk covered in dust. I probably haven't even been in the room itself for a few weeks. The house was far away, and as you can tell, I've been really busy, so sleeping in my car became the norm. Maybe I'm exaggerating the distance a bit, it was only a thirty minute drive. I had other reasons, but I didn't want to think about it.

I started feeling giddy like I did earlier, when I was spying on mammals in the street. I felt confident, maybe a little too confident. I closed my eyes lightly and kept my paw pressed against the gas. I turned right and continued down what I'm pretty sure was the right street. I slowed to a halt and opened my eyes, dead on. I was stopped right behind another car at a red light. I fist bumped myself and pulled out my phone. The automated tracking device I stuck on Miles's car was tied to my phone, so I could see it at anytime. So far I had his home address, or at least I think, the grocery store, possibly a friend's house, and a storage garage on the edge of town. I wonder why he would go to a storage garage on the edge of town? Could it possibly be where Dr. Harris is? Such a puzzling question! I know sarcasm is detected through tone of voice, but I try my best.

I stopped at the gas station to get some gas, I haven't been driving much, but also haven't stopped for gas in a while. Gas was as expensive as ever, which wasn't necessarily new. Anyways, I'll cut to the point, the rest of the drive was boring. I parked on the street and walked up the driveway to the door. I dug out my keys and opened the door, the only light was the moon from behind me. I slipped off my shoes and silently moved up the carpet covered stairs. I closed the door behind me as I entered my bedroom. There was still some dirty clothes lying around, and my bed wasn't made. The computer screen flickered to light, revealing the dusty keyboard. I sat down in the old office chair and reached down to the actual computer itself. I plugged in the ordinary, 8GB flash drive and waited.

A folder opened on the desktop, containing other folders and documents. I searched around for a bit without opening anything quite yet. There were files on the Super Soldier Project, as you could have guessed, there were a few document title's that could possibly help the ZPD, but not many. One folder in particular caught my interests the most, a folder containing details on the actual Super Soldier Serums. The actual documents were named simply numbers, so deciphering what they meant wouldn't work. I click on one at random, a wall of text taking over the computer screen.

My eyes instantly told me who was the victim of this beloved serum. The concept paragraph was a soldier designed with accelerated healing, loosened pain nerves, and improved vision. There were entire logs, detailing the creation of the actual serum, from a single sentence to a five paragraph essay. Why would Elliot give me this? It doesn't help in catching Dr. Harris. I scrolled to the bottom of the document, the last log was a handful. The details of the serums current state made me feel nauseous, not just because it was disturbing, but because a friend of mine lives like this because of me. The heart problems Nick was having were as I said a while back in the car with Judy and him, but it wasn't going to get any better, even if he stayed out of trouble. His body was over using resources, even when he isn't doing anything. Fur growth is amplified, imitating fur lose, as fur falls out quicker. Not eating for extended periods of time can make him pass out, have a heart failure of some sort, or even die. I'm not talking about days, I'm talking about a day, maybe less. Passing out is expected, mostly when drinking alcoholic beverages. Short term memory lose can occur on occasion, or on really rare occasion destroy memories, did I mention that the heart attacks won't get any better, only worse?

I stopped reading and closed the document, hopefully Nick got the good side of things, as before I closed the document I was skimming over the possibility of death, permanent muscle damage, and blindness. The serum was far from finished, but I didn't expect that. The wooden door behind me creaked open, making me sigh.

"Didn't think you'd be home." A wolf sat down on my bed as I slowly spun my chair around.

"Where is your car?" I asked quietly, my nighttime instincts giving in.

"Inside the garage." He squinted his eyes. So he really did clean the garage. Okay I'm sorry, I didn't want to mention that this wasn't my house, it was my brother Kyler's. Sure I help pay the bills here and there, but it's technically his house. "Didn't want to see me, did you?" He accused with a monotone voice. I stayed silent and stared at him, the computer screen light reflecting off his face. "We need to talk about mother." He looked down at the bed sheets next to him. I pressed my teeth together, already feeling upset at the mention.

"There is nothing you can say to make me change my mind." I gritted my teeth. Our mother has terminal cancer, and has been in the hospital for around a year now. She isn't expected to live for another six months, and Kyler wanted to put her down, to end her suffering. I felt the fur on back stand up, which made me pull my head back in an attempt to hide it. It wasn't common for my fur to do that, and I felt a bit a shame.

"Do you know the fox all over the news, the officer?" He changed the subject in a split second, making me even more angry.

"Yes, and why the hell did you bring up mother if "

"He can cure cancer." Kyler cut me off, looking me in the eyes. I started shaking my head, running my paw through the fur on my head.

"I am not asking him." I growled, making Kyler lean back slightly.

"Don't you love her?" Kyler leaned in this time, baring his teeth like I did a moment ago.

"Oh I'm sorry, who uses their damn paycheck to give her the support she needs?" I yelled back, our snouts only a foot away from one another, his breath hitting mine.

"I pay for the roof above your head!" I could see the saliva on his teeth, not to mention every aspect of his facial expression, even the slightest twitch of his eyebrows, my enhanced vision wasn't always a good thing.

"I stayed with her for days after she was diagnosed!" I shot back, no shame for the fur on my back anymore.

"I visit her everyday!" He yelled so loud I'm sure the neighbors have already filed a complaint. "Where were you when she was crying into my shoulder yesterday?!" He breathed heavily through his clenched teeth.

"Maybe I was thinking about how I was tortured into attacking my best friend..." I panted, losing the will to scream. "Maybe I was stopping a murder yesterday," I paused for a moment to catch my breath, "or was it the part where I thought about how I injected myself with millions of dollars worth of research into my body?" I arched my back and put my elbows on my knees, using my paws to hold my head up. A paw slid over my back, and I lifted off my knees as my brother wrapped his other paw around me as well. I returned the hug, we argued a lot, but in the end, brothers were brothers. After a few moments of dead silence, with the exception of the heavy breathing coming from both of us, I spoke up. "I'll ask him." I sniffled as he let go and returned to his spot on the bed.

Kyler stood up and left the room soon after, leaving the door just cracked. I spun the chair back around to face the computer, I wanted to read about myself a bit, I opened a document at random, but closed it since it was supposedly Ivan's. After a small bit of searching I found the serum that described myself: greatly enhanced senses and reflexes. As cool as it was, surely there had to be some side effects. I scrolled to the bottom of the document and began reading the final log. Seemingly the only side effect was that things such as being paranoid or too emotional can cause my senses to act up, my brain over processing every little thing I send to it. All of this is mostly speculation and theory, so it may not even apply to me.

My breathing was no longer shaky like it was, it was still surprising how emotional I was getting. Guess that's from holding it in for too long, just like having to pee during a movie but not wanting to miss anything, so you hold it all in. Anyways, my mother was barely forty three, her birthday was a few months ago, which she didn't even smile the whole time we were with her, she did cry, a mixture of happiness, that we gathered a portion of our family to visit, and sadness that a few of them may never see her alive again. I don't know why I'm bringing this up again, it just makes me feel better to think it out, contrary to what I said earlier.

My mom wasn't the greatest parent in the world, but she did her best with the cards she was dealt. She had me when she was only nineteen, alongside Kyler: non-identical twins, he was shorter and had darker fur. On the contrary, my father was the kind that would ask his kids to play baseball, teach them how to drive, how to tie their shoes, how to slow dance, and how to knock the shit out of anyone who bothered them. Our dad did all of these, the last one paid off at the warehouse I guess. I never did anything official, unless you count the police academy, but it was mostly self taught, including my father of course.

I turned my focus back to the computer, renaming the folders which precious documents resided: safety first. The USB ejected and found it's way into my pocket. I was about to leave the room, but realized not only was I still in uniform, but my standards for looking, and smelling good clearly went out the window. I haven't washed this thing is days, last time being at the local laundry mat, which was somewhere in the neighborhood of a week ago. I kept two sets of casual clothes in my car, but they probably needed a good wash as well. I stripped down and opened my dresser. The amount of clothes I had made it seem like I was stockpiling for the apocalypse, if clothes were edible, of course. Every drawer was jam packed full, plus the closet was back to back with shirts. If that wasn't enough, I had a stack of T-shirts and pants hung over the end of my bed, washed and ready to go. I put on a pair of blue jeans, a plain white T-shirt and a button up, blue plaid shirt, which was left unbuttoned.

I carried my uniform outside into the darkness of the hallway, looking over the balcony to the first floor. I walked towards the top of the stairs, where two doors were closed. The master bedroom was Kyler's, he did pay for the place after all, and I wasn't here near as often as him. I knocked gently and waited patiently, looking down at the carpet. After about seven and a half seconds the door opened, Kyler holding it open just enough for me to see his entire figure.

"Hey." He croaked. Hopefully he will wash my uniform for me, or at least let me wash it.

"I was just wondering, can you possibly wash this for me?" I said, ending with a higher pitch, giving the impression that I didn't want to ask out of fear of being rude.

"Sure." He said, taking the uniform off my arm into his own. I wiped my forehead in my imagination, at least he wasn't going to hold a grudge.

"By the way, did you know that there are 1,439 carpet bristles in this area." I changed the subject, marking off a portion of the carpet with my paws in the air. Why the hell did I say that?

"Wow, that's really something." Kyler said, clearly unamused. I don't think he even knew about my abilities, perhaps I should tell him. Would that be a good idea? If I told him, he'd think I'm crazy, and I'd have to prove it to him somehow, not to mention he'd think I'm a freak, but if I didn't, he could find out on his own and confront me for keeping it from him. He does know about Nick though, so that would make it more believable.

"There is also 2,338,943 strands of hair on the front of your head." I paused with a smile, "I didn't include the rest of the head because I can't see it." The smirk on my face probably made him think I was messing with him.

"Quit playing games, do you want me to wash this or not?" He groaned, rolling his eyes. I was far from done, the finale was approaching. Kidding, anyone can make up random numbers though, I needed something not easily staged.

"Kyler, you left your credit card on the nightstand over there, I pointed behind him across the room." He sighed, probably ready to counter again, but I wasn't finished. "The card number is 5831935803837382." I bent over slightly and half closed my eyes.

"Like you've never seen my credit card." He walked over to the nightstand, leaving me at the door.

"The expiration date is July, 2018." I ended with a high pitch voice again. "I can smell pizza, did you eat pizza today?" I scratched my chin jokingly.

"Yeah, for diner." He said, his back still facing me as he placed his credit card into his wallet.

"I can also smell another wolf, Lindsay, isn't it?" I walked into the bedroom, my eyes closed as I deeply inhale through my nostrils.

"Lindsay? You've only met her once." He turned to face me. I think I was starting to get to him.

"How'd the date go?" I asked politely, making him roll his eyes once again.

"Why are you acting like this? He motioned towards my body with a paw. Damn it, I was losing him, I needed more, which wasn't a problem. A pain in the back of my head told me to stop, but my will to prove my brother wrong was too strong, this was no game for him, only for me.

"Mother was crying into your left shoulder, the nurse shook your left paw, even though the right paw is usually used. You got a small piece of popcorn stuck in your bottom back molar, at the movie theater you drank pepsi, ate popcorn of course, and accidentally spilled the pepsi on your pants." I squinted my eyes and smiled, revealing my teeth. "Not the pants you're wearing, the ones in the hamper over there, the smell is quite easy to pick up on." Kyler's eyes were full of confusion and shock, this was comedy gold for me.

"But, but, but " He stuttered, raising one finger at a pitiful attempt to question my abilities. I wasn't doing to this to show off, as it may seem. I was doing this just to mess with him, but everything I've said so far was true to myself.

"Guess scents stick around for longer than you thought, you should have scrubbed extra hard in the shower this morning." I chuckled, wrapping an arm around his shoulder, which he shook off without using his arms.

"Explain!" He turned up the volume, backing up from me. Ahh yes, the part where my brother realizes he is wrong and resorts to yelling.

"The fox on the news, Nick, he isn't the only one who has super powers, remember when we were yelling at each other? I told you I injected myself with millions worth of research." I was smiling like I just won the lottery for some reason, I should be upset about being an crazy outcast, but I felt exhilerated.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He quieted down, now standing as far back away from me as he could, his paw almost hitting the nightstand. I sighed, my overwhelming excitement dropping dead in an instant.

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd be as amazed as I was, it's a bad habit I aquirred just earlier tonight." I sighed, looking away from him.

"Can you cure cancer?" He asked slowly, making me roll my eyes.

"No." I groaned, making him chuckle nervously.

"Sorry." He paused, "Well it's amazing and all, just scary." He slowly returned to his previous position, which was standing closer to me. "So you can smell better and shit?" I could take that literally and ask why'd that'd even be a super power, but that'd be childish.

"Extremely enhanced senses and reflexes." I raised a finger and closed my eyes, as if I was a fancy professor. The air around my leg shifted, and I swung a paw downwards. I slowly opened my eyes to an extent and looked down. Kyler's foot in my paw.

"Just testing." He said in defense as I let him go. I grabbed his fist a mere inch away from my face, making him flinch in surprise, holding it effortlessly, as he had stopped pushing. "Double checking?" He chuckled nervously. I let go and joined him with a light laugh of my own.

"Maybe dad just raised a good fighter." I grinned, putting my arm over his shoulder once again, this time he took no action, leaving my arm at peace.

"Shutup." He said with a smile, before departing from my arm and sitting down on his bed. "Okay, go do what it is you do, I got a super hero costume to prepare." He shooed me away with no effect.

"Super hero costume?" I said slowly, smiling awkwardly.

"No, dumbass, your uniform." He held my police uniform into the air, inspecting it. Damn, had me excited there for a second. Not really, I'd probably look like an idiot if I wore a costume, not a chance.

"Just don't make it green." I sighed a sigh of joy as I left the bedroom, leaving the door open.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Stupid Facts**

1\. Alex and Kyler were never meant to fight, Kyler was planned to just accept Alex's decline to ask Nick about saving their mother.

2\. In the very early planning for this chapter, I considered having his mother or father be in the house instead of a brother.

3\. Elliot originally just gave Alex the USB with little conversation, but it made no sense for him to do so, so he in return I had him request immunity.

4\. I wanted to use the F-word during Kyler and Alex's fight, but this story is rated T, and I'm too much of a pussy to risk anything.

5\. Deadpool references, damn it.

6\. I was going to make Alex listen to a song in the car, but I didn't want to just say 'I turned on the radio and listened to a song' and I couldn't think of one to use.

7\. This is the longest chapter since chapter twelve, and the longest ever including the author's notes.

8\. I wanted to use a unique name for Alex's brother, I didn't want to just use something generic that I've heard a dozen times before, so I used Kyler, the name of an old friend I knew in elementary school.

9\. Even I thought it was a bit ridiculous that Alex was able to deduce all that stuff to Kyler, but the Super Soldier Project doesn't fail to disappoint in the science side of things.

 **Hopefully you enjoyed this chapter at much as I did, it was probably one of my favorite to write so far.**

 **Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and if you'd like the next chapter to follow Alex as well!**

 **I check every day to see your reviews, and I enjoy reading them just as you enjoy reading this story, so please feel free to leave one for me!**


	17. Chapter 17 - Ghost of Hero's Past

Author's Note

This chapter was ridiculous to write, the PLANNING document itself was about 2,000 words, usually being under 500-1,000. Anyways, a little closure, this chapter looks into Alex's past, with some flashbacks and such. Bare with me, it's the most complex thing I've probably wrote so far.

If you read this chapter, you here by declare your devotion to leave a review, failing to obligate to these terms will result in severe punishment. (This is not a joke folks)

"Hey sleepy head, don't want to miss breakfast, do you now?" A joyful voice sounded into Alex's bedroom. A young, barely nine years old, Alex yawned, opening his eyes slightly. A young father stood up from his knees and yanked the covers off of Alex. "Kyler's gonna beat you to the pancakes!" He yelled and sprinted out of the room down the hall, headed to Kyler's room.

"No he isn't!" Alex laughed as he sprung out of bed in his pajamas, skidding into the hall and bouncing down the stairs. Alex looked back up as Kyler ran out of his bedroom, sliding his paw across the railing of the balcolny.

"No fair, you woke up Alex first!" Kyler scolded his father, who was laughing, jogging behind the two young wolves. Alex dove onto the stool at the kitchen island, making it wobble back and forth.

"First." He said happily with a smug grin as Kyler grouchily took the seat next to him. Their father took to the counter next to the stove, taking a cloth off the already prepared plate of pancakes.

"Second." Kyler muttered, just before inhaling deeply, a smile finding it's way onto his face. He looked over at the plate of pancakes in excitment.

"Okay, I'm sorry, that was unfair of me. How about..." Their morning loving father reached into the cabinent and retrieved two fancy glass plates. He laid out three pancakes on each, and drizzled syrup on both. "You both get your plate at the same time." Both plates slide in front of the hungry wolves, both satisfied. Their forks were already placed in front of them on the island in foresight by their father.

"Father, can we play baseball after school?" The two children asked in unison, making them giggle. Father stood over his pancakes across the island, leaning with his elbows as support.

"Only if you finish your pancakes." He instructed, knowing full well that both of them had no plan to leave anything left on their plate.

"You're on!" They both said once again in unison before devouring their pancakes, making 'mmmh' sounds every few seconds. Not barely a minute later, two burps erupted from the wolves, and father took their plates and laid them next to the sink.

"I gave you extra syrup, so make sure to brush extra hard." He insisted as he grabbed the morning paper off the edge of the island.

"Sir, yes sir!" Both pups said as they bolted out of the kitchen. Alex grabbed the tooth paste and spread it upon the tooth brush, then handed the tooth brush to Kyler, who began brushing. It was then that Alex picked up his own brush and slapped the tooth paste on. After an entire minute of feriously brushing, Alex and Kyler grabbed their bookbags and a new set of clothes from their bedrooms and ran downstairs. They grabbed their lunches on the counter seperating the kitchen from the living room, which was prepared for them in brown bags.

"Bye father!" Alex said as they left the house. Kyler closed the front door behind them and they began their path to the bus stop. The two brothers were early, just like always, to pass the time they messed with the bugs in the grass near the street pole. They were the only two at their bus stop, as most the children that attended their school lived elsewhere, in fact, their neighborhood didn't have many children, and ones that it did have were too old for the two wolves. After a good twenty minutes of giggling and messing around in the grass, the bus halted on the street before them. They boarded the school bus and sat right in the seat behind the bus driver, Alex taking the window seat.

"You ready to present for Ms. Popkin?" Kyler asked with a smile, Alex looked down and shrugged his shoulders, Kyler seemed like he was ready, but Alex felt nervous about the whole thing.

"I forgot to practice last night. My stomach feels twisted." Alex sighed, looking back to Kyler. They were supposed to present a speech that day in the classroom. The darker of the two brothers chuckled and placed a paw over Alex's shoulder.

"Don't worry." He comforted him, "If you truly try your toughest, no trail can't be traveled." Alex remembered that one, but it wasn't too reassuring. Alex was giving a speech on why television is bad for your eyes and what to do about it, which meant the whole class was going to be critical of his words. Not much else was spoken during the bus ride, only a short while later, the bus parked in front of their elementary school, Maple Leaf Elementary School.

Alex and Kyler exited the bus, both wishing a good day upon the bus driver just like they do every day. They crowded with every other kid into the school, lucky for them, they were taller than most the other mammals, as they were not only wolves, but also fourth graders, so they could easily see over most mammals heads. Schools systems had trouble applying an equal learning experience to all mammals since some could be held in the palm of one's hand, while others could crush you with their size. Typically kids were sent to schools dedicated to a certain height demographic, but some schools had sections for certain mammals, as this allows an elephant to have a school friendship with for say, a wolf.

Maple Leaf wasn't a sectioned school, it really shouldn't have to be, since most mammals don't experience drastic height differences until later years, however policy is policy, and wolves were one of the largest mammals accepted to the school. Kyler and Alex made their way into Ms. Popkin's classroom. Ms. Popkin was an Armadillo, who was old, but energetic and enthusiastic. About half the class was already present, sitting quietly on the floor, all facing a small wooden block set near the front wall of the class, where a student would soon stand. The two wolves sat behind everyone else, since they could see regardless. of who was in front of them, with the exception of Felix, the one other wolf in the class, who towered them by a few inches. They waited patiently until the bell rang, the rest of the students arriving by then, to which Ms. Popkin got up from her desk and walked to the front of the classroom. The armadillo began taking attendance, to which each student raised their arm upon being called. Not a single mammal was absent that day.

"Today we are going to begin our presentations." Ms. Popkins said with a bright smile. "Remember, if you present without your paper you get bonus points!" She informed everyone. Alex quietly took off his backpack and unzipped it, looking inside.

"Kyler, I can't find my paper!" Alex whispered in alarm. Making Kyler shrug his shoulders.

"Don't be a pussy, you'll do fine." Kyler whispered just as quiet back. Alex gasped lightly, looking up from his backpack.

"Father said not to use that word!" He warned Kyler in anger. As this unfolded, Ms. Popkin took to the whiteboard, where a wooden wheel was nailed up. The wheel contained a slot for every students name, and was spun to choose from them at random. The classroom halted all noise as she spun the wheel, turning Alex's attention from Kyler. The wheel slowed to a stop, the label made Alex's heart sink.

"Alexander Howlard!" Ms. Popkin exclaimed with glee, every single mammal turning their heads to face him, making him gulp. The wolf slowly rised onto his trembling legs. He walked over the wooden block, paperless. "Going for bonus points? That's the spirit!" This only made Alex even more nervous, his breathing unsteady. "You may begin." She gave Alex the go ahead. The poor wolf's mouth opened, but no words were heard. After a few seconds, he managed to get something out.

"I I, I Uh." He stammered, watching a couple mammals in the audience hold back laughter, sealing their mouths shut with a smile, while others rolled their eyes. Alex looked to his brother for hope, only to see him just looking in his bookbag. A muffled chuckle was heard from the crowd, then another, the culprits burrying their mouths into their arms to make it look like a cough, or at least anything but a laugh. A tear began to form in Alex's eye, he felt ashamed, embarrased, like he'd failed everyone. As colorful as Ms. Popkin was, she didn't realize the most simple form of torture.

"Owww!" A screech echoed throughout the room, the crowd of faces spinning away from Alex, his jaw opened in shock as he looked to the back of the audience. Kyler stood up in front the class and dropped a pair of scissors to the carpet, a large cut across the top of his arm, blood staining his fur.

"Oh you poor thing! Let's take you to the nurse's office." Ms. Popkin pushed Kyler past the still sitting students towards the door. Kyler gave a slight smile to Alex as the teacher and him passed by. Only a few moments of silence after they left was interupted by all the other students cheering, geting up to socialize with whom ever they pleased. A wide smile spread across Alex's face, his white teeth showing in relief. He wiped the tear from his eye, still staring out the classroom door from upon the wooden block, knowing full well what his brother had done.

His smile faded, and a look of deep thought took over. Surely when she got back she'd return to their regularly scheduled program, which in this case was a train wreck. Alex walked over to Kyler's bookbag, which lied alone on the floor, the prancing students roaming around it. A twisted thought took over, what if he just read his brother's paper? He shook his head, telling himself no, his brother put his neck out for him. He'd probably get a good grade, and no embarrasment would come of it. He slowly pulled the top of the bookbag up, a folder present, and a loose paper inside. He felt ashamed as he slowly pulled it from it's rightful place. Upon looking at the only slightly wrinkled paper, he read the title, "Television Vs. Our Eyes". Alex was in utter surprise, his smile returned. He had his doubts, but little did he know that Kyler had accidently switched up their folders when they did their homework the night before, they did look the same after all.

"Okay class, back to presentations!" Ms. Popkin exclaimed, reentering the room, making everyone sit back down, no shame for being loud and obnoxious. "What do you say we spin the wheel again?" She said excitingly, making a few mammals groan.

"What about Alex?" Felix asked with a frown, who would have thought a wolf would try to throw another wolf under the bus.

"He can go tomorrow, no big deal right?" She stuttered, clearly trying to think of an excuse as to why Alex shouldn't go.

"That's stupid!" Felix accused, looking at me sitting in the back. "He gets a free pass because he stutters like a mad mammal?" He groaned.

"Felix! Alexander will go tomorrow, end of story!" Ms. Popkins insisted. Alex slowly rised to his feet, holding the paper tight in his paw.

"I'll go." The wolf proudly spoke, making everyone squint in confusion, all except Ms. Popkin. Alex walked over the wooden block, closing his eyes with a pause before stepping upon it. He coughed once before looked down at his paper.

"No bonus points?" He heard Felix whisper to the bunny next to him, who responded with a light chuckle. Alex took the paper into both paws and held it up in front his face. In a split second, he smashed the paper with both paws, crumpling it into a ball, making a few mammals gasp. Ms. Popkin had no reaction, keeping a smile on her face. Alex tossed it to the floor, the impact not making a sound, but meaning so much.

"Bonus points." Alex whispered boldly, making Felix let out a light growl. Time seemed to slow, everyone waiting in anticipation for Alex's speech. He heard his brother's voice in his head, 'If you truly try your toughest, no trail can't be traveled!'.

"My 'paper' is titled 'Wolf in Hero's clothing'. He said proudly, making everyone eager to hear the next word uttered from him. He waited a solid six seconds, glancing over at Ms. Popkin.

"What's it about, Alex?" She followed up, knowing that's what he wanted. He took a breath, and looked back to the students.

"Glad you asked, Ms. Popkin." The wolf paused, "My presentation is on why when I grow up, I want to be a hero." This made Felix snort a bit, smiling in a not so nice way. "More specifically, why when I grow up, I want to be a police officer." The crowd ate it up, everyone except Felix. "The world is full of evil, and a lot of people want to be 'the good guy', but some mammals consider just following the law to be enough. Well I decided I want to take it a step forward and ensure that not only I follow the law, but others do just that." Each word empowered the wolf more and more. He wasn't reading from a sheet of paper, he wasn't reading from his brain, he was reading off his heart. Alex turned a slight glance to the door as he spoke, seeing Kyler standing in the doorway, with a bandage over his arm. "You can have lots of heros in your life, even heros have heros. My brother and I, Kyler, are each other's heros." Alex explained, pointing to the smiling wolf in the doorway. "When I grow up, I don't want to be just any hero, I want to be the hero that everyone looks up to, similar to a celebrity, but for bold, heroic actions, not just a crappy song that tone deaf twelve year olds listen to." Many mammals in the crowd laughed, not against him, not with him, but for him.

After Alex's speech, he concluded with a bow, the whole thing went on for over five minutes. Every mammal in the crowd began clapping, some cheering, all with the obvious exception, Felix. Class eventually came to a close, no student coming close to Alex's level of pride and enthusasm. Ms. Popkin was left alone in the room, she eyeballed a piece of trash from her desk and walked over to pick it up. She tossed the paper ball in the trash can, but continued staring. She looked behind her at the door before retrieving the paper ball. She slowly unraveled it until it was legible.

"Television Vs. Our Eyes." She muttered with a smile, knowing that Alex wasn't speaking from the paper.

The classroom fades to nothing, nothing but darkness. A familiar wolf lies in bed once again, the sun having long been up. However, this wasn't the same wolf from before. It techincally was, but no longer of nine years of age, but rather fourteen. The wolf opened his crusty eyes, hitting the wall behind his bed while stretching. After a minute or so of lying still he threw the covers off and climbed to his feet. His hunched over back, the crusty eyes, and the general look of exhaustion was a clear indicator that he was up late the night before, he was still shirtless and wearing athletic shorts. He traveled down the stairs and entered the kitchen, opening a cuboard and pulling out a bowl.

"Don't touch me, jackass!" His mother growled from the living room, which was only right next to the kitchen. Alex paid this no attention and grabbed the milk from the fridge, then the Lucky Chomps from the cabinent on the island.

"Honey, I don't see why it's such a big deal, just a little extra cash." Father retorted, trying once again to gently grab her shoulder, which he pushed away.

"What about our kids!" She yelled as Alex poured his milk, his eyes still half closed. He then placed the milk back in the fridge and grabbed the box of Lucky Chomps to put it away.

"They're fine, it's not like we speak to them on a daily basis anyways!" He raised his voice, directing it into the kitchen. Alex placed a spoon into his bowl and carried it out of the kitchen, into the hallway and up the stairs, not even looking at either his parents.

"See what you did to them?" Alex heard his mother whisper very loudly from the living room, making him roll his eyes.

"Oh! So it's MY fault, where were you when Kyler was crying on my shoulder last week?" His dad boomed. It was true, Kyler did cry on his shoulder, his girlfriend broke up with him, and he would have chosen Alex over father any day, but he wasn't home at the time.

"He had no choice! You were home alone being a lazy piece of shit, I was out working to pay the bills!" She screeched, making Alex wince, his ears hated his parents more than ever. The wolf entered his bedroom and kicked the door shut, making sure to balance his cereal with both paws. His desk failed to bare a keyboard and monitor, but rather an assortment of comic books, paper, pencils, and other art supplies. After a few minutes of deliciousness, Alex laid down his empty bowl aside.

Grasping a pencil, he laid a piece of paper in front of him. The pencil was dull and missing an eraser, but it was good enough for him. As the pencil slowly made its way throughout the paper, a sketch of a wolf was present, standing boldly with his chest out. Sure, it wasn't the most visually appealing, but it was just a sketch. Alex then drew a cape on his back, flailing behind him. The wolf then selected a green colored pencil from the unorganized mess of stuff on his desk, coloring in the eyes on the wolf, then moving to the costume he wore. After a few more minutes of hunching over his desk, Alex grapped a small tap roll from on top of a comic book. He taped the drawing on the wall right behind his desk, smiling at what he drew. It was a wolf in a green super hero costume, with giant, bold letters above it, 'Wolf in Hero's Clothing'.

Alex then took to the bathroom, placing his bowl on the counter as he stared into the mirror at himself. The sun light coming through the small window above the shower drifted to darkness, only moonlight present, confusing Alex, then the sun took over, then the moon, day, night, day, night. Days passed in seconds as Alex stared into the mirror, deeply watching his figure. His spine straighted upwards, his ears grew slightly, his legs expanded vertically. Alex grew a few inches in height, his previously tiny arms revealed muscle, his cereal bowl long gone, and the previously clear counter was covered in a mess of grooming appliances. This was no illusion, and made Alex back up, placing his paws on the wall behind him, still staring into the mirror in shock. He was now wearing a pair of blue jeans, an unbuttoned blue plaid shirt, and a plain white undershirt. Another wolf entered the bathroom, making Alex yelp and back up to the bathtub, which was also a shower. He loosened his shocked expression as he watched the wolf stare into the mirror like he did just moments ago. It was him, but how?

"Umm." I stammered, getting no reaction from myself who was just about in arms reach. I watched myself comb the top of his head and leave the bathroom with a smile. I hesitated, but followed my other self towards the stairs, as we descended towards the bottom, A flick of my paw told me I couldn't touch me HIM. Damn it, that was confusing. As we both turned the corner, pulling the kitchen into view, I instantly remembered this moment. My mother was crying, leaning over the island, burrying her face into her arms.

"Mom!" I heard my past self say, I know that much now. I slowly approached my mother, who was being pulled up by my past self, who turned her around and held her by the shoulders. "What's wrong?" Past self asked in concern. I looked away, knowing full well what she was going to say, every detail of it coming back to me.

"Yo your father," she said, stuttering every moment she got. "Your father is dead." She finished before bursting into uncontrollable sobbing. I stared at my past self as his face was of pure shock and sorrow. The kitchen began to spiral into darkness, followed by the other two wolves in the room, leaving me alone in darkness. My bedroom materialized, the moonlight shining through the blinds. My past self standing in the middle of the room, a keyboard and monitor laid before the desk, rather than my comic books. My past self stared at the monitor, even though it was off. I took a step closer only to realize he was looking at the drawing, partially hidden behind it. My 'Wolf in Hero's Clothing' drawing was still taped to the wall, untouched in over sevens years.

"No." I said to myself, my present self. I remembered this moment just as well as the last.

"It can be treated, it just won't work, it's too expensive to come out of pocket" I heard a deep clear voice in my head speak. There was no one present to utter these words other than myself and I, but I knew who was talking.

"We can make up the money!" My mother's voice said quickly, my past self was thinking about this just like I was now, I remember thinking about it a few months ago.

"Ma'am, the costs are over a hundred thousand a year, I'm sorry." The doctor said, truly sounding sympathetic. My past self then looked down at the floor in deep thought.

The room collapses around me, my past self fading into oblivion once again. Bricks arouse on either side of me, windows every ten feet or so upwards, an alley forming. I looked ahead and saw my past self's back facing me. I approached the wolf, knowing he couldn't see me anyways.

"How much is the pay, exactly?" My past self spoke, I walked to the side of myself, a fox across from me. I now knew this fox as Elliot, but he was wearing a jacket, long pants, and a hat to help conceal himself.

"If you prove your worth, you can expect at least 150K a year, plus your job as an officer, don't worry, we will take care of all that. So in total, probably over 200K a year." Elliot said smoothly, which I groaned as my past self smiled widely.

"Well then you tell him it's a definite yes!" My past self grasped Elliot's hand and shook it firmly. As the fox and I parted ways, the world began to fade once again, returning me to my dark bedroom, where I was previously. My past self still stood in the center of the room, looking down.

"Don't." I scolded my past self, caring less that he couldn't hear me. I watched as he bared his teeth and sprung up, reaching past the computer monitor, tearing my drawing off the wall. He tore it in half, then again, again, and again. My past self flung the ruined drawing into the trash can on the other side of the desk as the computer, making me cover my face with my paw. I slowly removed my paw in shame, my past self gone, leaving me alone in the room.

"Got anything else?" I heard Kyler from behind me, making me jump.

"What?!" I asked in shock and anger, making Kyler flinch. He was holding my police uniform on his arm, helping me determine that I was no longer having a crazy ass flashback or something.

"Anything else need washed?" He asked slowly, raising his eyebrows. I sighed in relief, handing him my car keys from my pocket.

"Yeah, a few outfits in the trunk of my car." I informed, Kyler then taking to the stairs. I inhaled deeply, holding my breath for a few moments before spewing it all out. I felt tears building up in my eyes, what was this? I felt a paw on my back, and looked down. My mother faded into view, pulling me into a gentle hug. I thought this shit was over, I began to lightly cry.

"You're my hero." She whispered, making my eyes widen. I threw my paws around her back, but they passed right through her, and just like that, she blew away like wind. I slowly approached my desk, and with a swift paw and slammed it down and across, knocking the keyboard and monitor over the edge of the desk, landing on the carpet next to the computer. I pushed my rolling chair aside, throwing open the bottom drawer of the desk. I slammed a piece of paper down on the now empty surface, laying a pencil next to it. I leaned over, using my left arm as support as my right one bolted across the paper, spending not a second in the same spot. This pencil felt smaller than it did eight years ago. After about a minute I felt satisfied and blew a kiss to my own drawing. Something was missing, so I rumaged through my drawer and found the final touch, a green colored pencil. After another shear few moments I retrieved the same roll of tape from all that time ago and placed a small piece on the end of the paper.

I sighed, the drawing residing in the same spot on the wall as before. Yes, I'm messing with you by not telling you what I drew, but I thought I made it pretty obvious to begin with. Apparently my super abilities include being excellent at drawing.

"Whoa." I turned to see Kyler, who was dumbfounded. He entered the room, completely disregarding the keyboard and monitor flung to the floor, only focusing on the drawing taped on the wall, right behind my desk. "When did you draw that?" He asked in amazement.

"Right after you left with my keys." I said, reminding him to hand them back. The drawing was of course of a bold, courageous wolf, sticking his chest out with his dark green cape and light green suit.

"It looks so real." Kyler whispered, getting closer. I stood beside him and watched as his eyes widened. He turned to face me, I knew what he had just realized. "It was you the whole time." He quietly said with smile. No one could tell I was the wolf in the drawing because it wasn't possible, green eyes doesn't cut it. The old drawing was so lacking in detail the most you could made out of it was that it was a wolf. "You're the wolf in hero's clothing." He said, reading the label on the drawing.

"I wanted to tell you something." I sighed, I did tell him about my powers after all, so he should know the rest.

"Yeah?" He waited patiently, noticing my look of regret.

"You know Dr. Harris?" I asked nervously, scratching the back of my head.

"Yeah, the criminal on the news, right?" He nodded in confusion. I looked away from him, and back to the drawing on the wall.

"I worked for him." I pushed part of the load off my chest.

"Worked for him, like knowingly?" He gasped, sadly, that was a yes.

"Yes." I said, but was quick to explain before Kyler flipped out. "I did it so I could be that wolf." I said, pointing to my drawing. "I did it because it was high paying, and that's how I've been able to support mother all these months." I stuttered. "I felt so terrible about the things I did to be a hero, that I realized I wasn't one, so I tore the drawing down." I was now breathing heavily, looking down in shame.

"That's where it went." Kyler whispered to himself. "You're against him right?" He asked, just being sure.

"Yeah, in fact, I have a big lead on him." I reinforced. "However, I'm a bit scared to find him to be honest." A frown grew upon Kyler's face, making me worried about what'd he say next.

"Don't be a pussy, you'll do fine." His frown quickly turned to a smile. My jaw dropped slightly at that, this time it was reassuring.

"You're right." I said, sucking in all the breath I could, pushing my chest out. "I must save the world." A deep voice emerged from my throat, making us both laugh. "Where's my super suit?" A higher pitch voice came about, refering to my uniform.

"It's in the washer, remember?" He bumps my arm, making me shake my head, oh yeah.

"You know Kyler, you're my hero." I said as cheesy as possible.

"Heros have heros too, you know." He tapped a claw on my chest, he remembered.

Author's Note

Not So Stupid Facts?

1\. Deadpool movie reference, did you find it?

2\. While planning this chapter, I was concerned about how I'd write about Alex seeing his past self, not to mention the world fading out, but I tried my best.

3\. This is the longest chapter by over 500 words.

4\. While writing the part where Alex's mother appears and hugs him, I began tearing up and took a small break from writing. (God damn it)

5\. We now know more about Alex than Nick and Judy, jesus.

6\. This chapter took less time to write than some of shortest chapters, because I was very inspired to write it.

7\. Like I said in the beginning, the planning document for this chapter was almost as long as chapter 14.

8\. Instead of addressing Alex's father as 'Their father' I sometimes addressed him as simply 'father' to emphasize his bond to his sons, however, their mother is only referenced this way by Alex while speaking to Kyler, as she wasn't as impactful as a parent.

9\. Alex broke the fourth wall. (Kill me)

10\. A few aspects of Alex are based on me, such as his affection towards drawing.

11\. If you didn't catch the incredibles reference, you clearly haven't seen the movie.

If you enjoyed this chapter, or didn't, please tell me why you did or didn't with a review! Don't be shy to make more than a simple single statement in the review, those are the only ones I get to read until next chapter!

P.S. If the next chapter takes awhile to get out, that's probably the writers block kicking in, since we are now returning to what Nick and Judy are up to.

See you next time around...


	18. Chapter 18 - Pancake Spirit

Author's Note

Warning, yes I changed the damn title of the story again. I know it's probably frusterating, but I couldn't seem to get a title that could help readers know what they are getting into, and 'An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away' is ridiculously vague, even if the description clears things up, this is a pretty small update, but starts the next day off with our protagonists.

I quickly shot open my eyes as knocking burst into my ears. Nick was below me on the couch, which reminded me of our conversation last night. I quickly but carefully rolled to the floor, running over to the door on instinct.

"Judy? What are you doing here at this time in the morning?" Alex chuckled, looking down at me. It was only then that I thought it would have been a better idea to wake Nick up, luckily I was still in my casual clothes, rather than anything that would indicate I was sleeping. I studied Alex closely, no bags under his eyes, his uniform looked as if it was prepared for a general, as if it was hand washed a thousand times. His fur was groomed so well you'd think he was getting married.

"I let myself in to wake Nick, but he's still sound asleep." I said, hiding how nervous I was as best as possible. Alex seemed to consider this and nodded slowly.

"Yeah," He dragged on, turning to look out to the street for a moment. "Anyways, we got a big lead on Dr. Harris, wake the fox, will you?" He said, gently moving me back with his paws so he could enter the door. "Ahh, I'll never understand why he chooses to sleep on the couch." The wolf stratched his head, looking at the sleeping Nick on the couch.

"I called off today." I interviened. I wasn't lying, but it was partly because I wanted to enjoy time with Nick today not doing work related things, and partly because I was scared. Dr. Harris and his army of whatever mammals he has at his disposal was what I wanted to find and catch, but at the same time didn't. They wouldn't go down without a fight, and someone could get seriously hurt, as if that hasn't happened already.

"Too late Judy, this has to happen today." Alex said very sternly. I flinched in surprise at the anger and tone of his voice.

"Why?" I walked over to the fox sleeping on the couch, not quite ready to wake him, but rather just stare at him.

"I've waited too long to be a hero." Alex said loud enough to make Nick squirm a bit. I shushed him with one finger against me lips.

"You are a hero, you saved Nick's life." I chuckled nervously, to me it seemed like either Alex was insane or having a mid life crisis, maybe both?

"I also ruined it." Alex growled, making me look away. "Nick's body is killing him, the sooner we find Dr. Harris, the better it will be for him and us." He said much quieter, realizing that of all mammals, he doesn't want to tell Nick that news. Sure it'd make Nick side with him in the argument, but it'd also make him go crazy.

"Are you okay?" I asked slowly. Nick had told me about the syringe he injected himself with, when we were at the ZPD yesterday. He didn't give me many details, as he didn't even have much himself, but he told me to not tell Alex I told him. "Nick told me about the syringe." I cross my paws together, holding my shoulders up in fear that Nick would be mad at me.

"Better than ever!" Alex echoed, smiling wide and stretching his arms out wider. "My brain has been whirling in pain since last night!" He yelled, making Nick groan from behind me. "My dying mother no longer has my salary to pay for her medical bills, and I can't help but count the amount of hairs on the face of anyone I talk to, or the carpet on the floor! Maybe it's the smell of what you ate for diner last night! Here I was thinking I could control it!" He stepped closer, throwing a finger up at me. Alex stumbled over his own leg, catching himself on the coat rack, but fell to the floor, leaving the rack wobbling.

"Take a deep breath." I instructed, taking to his side. "You're going to be fine." I reassured, realizing I had two mental patients to take care of now, as Nick was rubbing his eyes.

"You ate pizza last night." He panted. I sighed and rubbed his shoulder caringly.

"Yes I did." I laughed, hoping it'd make him feel better. Alex began taking deep breaths through his nose.

"Who else is here?" He jumped to his feet, looking down the hall. If he could smell what I ate for diner, I'm sure he could smell another mammal in the house. Who else could be here?

"Finnick, you remember him Judy. I told him he could stay here for a bit since he got kicked out of his place." Nick walked over with a smile.

"When we heading to the ZPD?" Nick asked, making Alex smile.

"I told you I called off last night." I groaned at Nick.

"Well, as much as we could use a break, the longer we put this off, the worse." Nick rubbed the back of head.

"As right as you are, I'd still choose our sanity." I drooped my shoulders, looking up at the both of them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if you woke up Finnick." I said to Alex as Nick walked towards the kitchen.

"I've never met this Finnick character, does he happen to be a fennec fox?" Alex asked out of curiousity. Surely he already knew since he could smell him, or at least I thought.

"Yes, couldn't you tell by smell?" I scratched my chin, ready to join Nick in the kitchen for whatever he was making. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all.

"Well you see, I've never met a fennec fox, I just thought so because a pair of parents took a 'play on words' joke too far." Alex said with a smile. This wolf went from falling to the floor chanting about the world's sins to him, then to smiling and joking within less than a minute. He never fails to surprise me, the incident in the hospital came to mind, but I pushed it away quickly.

"I'm making pancakes!" Nick yelled from across the hall, not attempting to be quiet in anyway shape or form.

"Will you shut up!" I heard a deep voice explode from down the hall to the left, I faintly remembered it, only hearing Finnick talk once before this, and that was months ago. Alex and I together entered the kitchen, seeing Nick standing next to the stove, an apron tied around his back.

"Just take your seat here!" Nick instructed as he ran back into the kitchen with another wooden chair, placing it on the other side of the tiny table, which originally bared one chair. It was then that I got a chance to read Nick's apron, it said 'Diss the Rook', and in red, blood imitating letters 'DON'T' was written above it.

"Since when do you cook?" I accused, knowing full well that Nick avoided preparing any food whenever he could, anything from as simple as pancakes to a steak diner. Nick continued running around the kitchen, pulling orange juice from the fridge, syrup from the cabinents below the counter, plates from above, cups, forks, knives, and butter! I was pretty impressed by his level of not being lazy.

"I wanted to do something nice for you guys, feels good I guess." He sighed, holding a smile as he flipped the pancakes.

"Oh Nick, you're always nice." I said as sarcastically as possible, smiling as he chuckled over at the stove.

"Which mentally unstable hosptial patient told you that?" Nick said sternly, turning around with a pancake still on his spatula. Alex and I couldn't help but laugh in return. As he flipped one final pancake, Nick tossed the syrup into the microwave, slid our forks in front of us, along with a stick of butter contained in glass.

"Pancakes! Pancakes! Pancakes!" Alex began chanting, and I soon joined in, the both of us agressively staring down Nick as he plopped pancakes onto two plates.

"Your buttery goodness is served, your highnesses." Nick bowed as he placed our plates in front of us. Alex seems pleased, but raised an eyebrow as Nick rose back to his feet. The syrup was already poured on by our servant.

"Are we going to work?" He asked Nick, making me roll my eyes.

"Only if you finish your pancakes." Nick said with glee. I cut a small bite of them off and placed them into my mouth. Who wouldn't finish these?! Alex didn't begin eating the pancakes, he sat there and stared down at them.

"Nothing." The wolf responded. I knew it was nothing, but I didn't want to be nosy and make him angry.

"Nothing is something, you can tell us anything you want, imagine that we are part of your conscience or something." Nick reassured him, patting him on the back as he made his way to the fridge.

"I saw my father last night." Alex flinched at his own words. I never knew much about Alex now that I thought about, the only thing I knew about his life was that he was a cop, and we were his friends. It was kind of sad, since we're such close friends now.

"Do you guys not get along?" Nick said before guzzling on an entire gallon of milk. Alex rested his head on his paws, placing his elbows on the table top.

"No, just that it's not very common to see dead people." Alex croaked, his paws sliding up to his face, rather than his chin.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Nick apologized with a sympathetic tone, walking over to Alex with milk staining the fur around his lips, which made it ever so slightly more difficult to take him seriously.

"It's fine, it's just that I didn't a ghost or anything." Alex explained, making me very curious. I knew he wasn't going to pull something like 'He was a zombie!' but I knew something strange was due. "I was at my brother's house, and I zoned out or something, I started seeing past events of my life, but they were so real, a few I was actually standing there, watching myself." Alex looked past me into space, sounding as if he was talking to himself.

"To the mental asylum you go!" Nick coughed into a fist. In return I delivered a swift punch to his stomach. "Oww, okay, okay, I'm sorry." He backed up in defense.

"Maybe I'll tell you the rest some other time, we have buttery goodness to eat and a job to do." Alex lightened up. Once again, he seems fine just now, but only a moment ago he looked like he was about to cry. Was he just trying to act cheery in order to keep up off his case?

"That's the spirit!" Nick tossed the empty gallon of milk in the trash. You would think Nick was pregnant, if he wasn't a guy of course. I was still frusterated about going to work after calling off, it was very rare of me to call off, and I really wanted to enjoy it, but if Nick was going, then it'd be mostly pointless.

"Hey Alex I wanted to ask you, when did you get the time to prepare that?" I asked, motioning to his uniform. Alex looked down at it and smiled.

"A few hours ago." He said with pride. I looked over at the microwave, it was barely seven in the morning. "I wasn't tired." He answered my question before I even had a chance to ask it, let alone think it. Nick was now guzzling down a carton of orange juice, each gulp blantantly obvious as his throat bobbed up and down. My attention turned back to Alex, who's bright green eyes looked across the table at me.

"We'll catch him Alex." I assured him, regardless of what he was thinking about. He really wanted to be a hero, didn't he? He was already one in my mind, but that's doesn't do any good. "You'll catch him." I got up and placed both of our plates on the counter. Alex nodded with courage and stood up, patting off his suit, probably making sure there is no dust on it.

"Let's go." Alex said smoothly, and began walking towards the front door.

"Wait!" I turned my head and saw Nick sputter a bit of orange juice out as he slammed the empty carton into the trash. "I'm not ready!" He ran into his bedroom and closed the door. Alex and I stood silently near the front door, the moment ruined.

"I don't wanna see that!" I heard Finnick yell from behind the wooden door, making Alex and I quietly chuckle to ourselves.

"Sorry, duty calls!" Nick responded, a bang coming from inside.

"Get out!" Finnick yelled as Nick burst into the hallway, still buttoning his pants. Alex and I were still both snickering as he fiddled with the zipper.

"Okay, it was funny, I get it." Nick rolled his eyes as we left the house, slamming the door behind us.

Author's Note

While short, I figured I'd give it to yah. I also updated the cover art, which I drew myself in photoshop, which is why I had to make a chapter to go with it. Anyways, I'd like to play a game, leave a review telling me what your favorite chapter is and why!

See you hopefully soon.


	19. Chapter 19 - Mammal On a Mission

The ZPD in it's whole glory came to view, making me smile. This was my one shot at being a true hero. I was driving, as it was my car that we left Nick's house in. Nick's car was still in the ZPD parking lot from the night before, and Judy's was at Nick's place. Confusing, isn't it? Kyler's voice told me to ask Nick about his will to cure cancer, but I told him now wasn't the right time, it just wasn't.

"Shit, we didn't think this one through." I said, leaning back in my seat.

"We didn't even plan anything yet." Judy clarified from the passenger seat. Sure we haven't planned a raid, but we also didn't consider how we were going to get Ivan out of his cell and in uniform. His strength and intellect would give us a huge advantage if we ran into any challenges.

"Yes, but we need Ivan with us." My response made Judy nod in agreement. Nick also nodded from the rear mirror.

"Question, how strong exactly is he?" Nick asked, leaning forward to meet our sides as I parked the car.

"His strength is limited by things like adrenaline, technically speaking, his limitations wouldn't hold him from stopping a car of this size, at the expense of damaging his muscles, which would demand many days of resting in order to achieve his previous strength back. He can also manually control his strength with the crank on his chest, which is a pretty bad design flaw if you ask me, since in theory anyone could turn it, regardless that it's difficult to turn." My mouth explained quickly, making Judy smile. We all three got out of the car in unison, slamming our doors and walking towards the ZPD.

"How'd you know all that? Ivan had that procedure not too long ago." Judy asked, she was right, there was no way I could have known. No harm in telling her about the USB, but then yet again, Nick would ask questions about himself, and I didn't want to worry him.

"He told me last night." I lied. It was a small lie, since there was no reason he wouldn't tell me, and it made no difference to her.

"Is he okay?" Judy asked, making me raise an eyebrow. Why'd she care about him, was it because he saved my life?

"Yeah I guess, thought you hated him?" My mind told me there was more to it, I just had to find out. Nick stayed silent through all of this, to my surprise.

"I don't HATE him. He doesn't seem like a bad guy outside of his line of work, and does his best with the cards he was dealt." Judy sighed, shrugging her shoulders. She may have known who Elliot was perhaps, she doesn't seem to take into account that he tried to murder someone.

"Okay." I didn't want to keep dragging that on, so I responded as simply as possible. The three of us entered the ZPD, ready to make the world a better place. Chief Bogo was looking over his balcony at the three of us, the sunlight behind us blaring through the glass doors, casting our shadows across the lobby floor. Clawhauser smiled at our presence, I wouldn't be surprised if he was waiting since last night. There were at least a dozen other officers standing around the lobby with coffee and doughnuts. "We got a lead on Dr. Harris!" I yelled, making the other officers cheer, one of them dropping their doughnut, only to drop to their knees.

"I'll go see if I can speak with Ivan." Nick said quickly, about to run off.

"That won't be necessary, I'll do it." I objected, I knew him more than both Nick and Judy, so it made more sense for me to do it. Besides, it was my idea anyways, and you all love Ivan, right? I handed Judy my phone, as it had the possible location of Dr. Harris on it. "Passcode is 1580, open the tracker app, and the location is the storage garage on the edge of town." I patted her on the head, making he playfully smack my arm away.

"Okay, you better get him straightened out." She warned jokingly, "Or else." I chuckled as I spun around, heading towards the back of the ZPD.

"Good morning!" I greeted Clawhauser as I passed his desk. "Oh and in case I don't see you, good afternoon, good evening, and goodnight." I made my way to the hallway extending from the lobby. As far as I was concerned, there was no way Ivan would be placed in an actual prison, they didn't want to risk that. At the end of the hall, there was a guard, who was in charge of anything in the back left of the building. "I'm here to speak with Ivan." The guard nodded and stepped aside, letting me continue down the hall. There weren't many cells, since this was for temporarily holding criminals, and as expected, Ivan was sitting down on his cell bed.

"Can I help you?" Ivan gritted through his teeth, obviously not in the mood to see the bastard that stopped his attempt at murder.

"Yes, we need your help." I spoke softly, making sure to be nice to equal out with his anger.

"That's funny." He groaned, turning to face the back wall of the cell.

"Yeah, as much as you hate funny, you can start by stop acting like the world has sinned against you. Sit up straight and look at me." I instructed sternly. Fight fire with fire, right? Ivan stood up and cracked his neck, facing me once again.

"What's your deal?" He squinted, walking over to the cell bars.

"You think you've got it so rough, like God owes you an apology. You owe God an apology, and you can do that by helping us catch Dr. Harris, not trying to kill someone who is in cuffs on his knees, ready to do the same." I gritted my teeth, opening his cell with my set of keys. I dragged the door open, awaiting Ivan's next move, but he remained still.

"You trust me?" He asked in response to me opening his cell. I snorted and looked down for a moment.

"You and I both know that myself can dodge anything you attempt, including a bullet." I looked back up to face him, smiling. Tough guy act seemed to work, as I turned around and began walking back towards the lobby Ivan followed behind without a problem. As we passed the guard, the look on his face was quite amusing, but he only questioned it in his head. As we reentered the lobby, most the officers were gone, probably in the conference room for planning. Nick and Judy weren't present as well, but Clawhauser was.

"You brought him in here!" He ducked down in alarm. I rolled my eyes with a smile, Ivan didn't want to hurt us, he wanted to hurt Elliot.

"It's fine, where is everyone?" I changed the subject, luckily Clawhauser returned to his normal posture. He didn't look at Ivan and or I, however.

"Conference room." His quick response told me he was still nervous about Ivan being here, which isn't very surprising.

"Alright Ivan, ready to face the crowd?" I said, gently pushing him towards the conference room. He only exhaled through his nose in return. I pushed open the conference room doors with full force, ready to make every aware of Ivan's presence. The doors flew open, every single officer turning to face us. Ivan's shoulder dropped and he sighed as everyone had their eyes wide.

"I didn't think you'd actually bring him here!" Judy shouted from her seat.

"Relax, he doesn't want to hurt you guys." I reassured everyone. "Besides, he wants to catch Dr. Harris just as we do." It was only then that I made my way into the room, urging Ivan to follow with a paw. I apointed an empty seat for Ivan, which was right next to Nick, and was supposed to be my seat. I remained standing and began walking around the table.

"He's not even an officer!" One mammal accused, but I didn't pay any attention.

"Dr. Harris is most likely residing in an old storage unit near the edge of Zootopia, near the sea. One of his employees vehicle has been there multiple times in the last twenty four hours, which gives that suspicion. All of us will go there, armed and ready for anything that may be present. If he isn't there, we simply leave. If he or anyone affiliated with him is present, we take them in cuffs, or..." I paused, opening my eyes to face everyone. "We shoot them." I can already hear the internet shouting 'police brutality!', Even if they're returning fire. Everyone seemed in agreement with this, but the look of worry was also plastered among them as well.

"We're going guns against guns?" Evans asked. I remembered him and Peterson, they were ambushed before they could assist us at Ivan's house. I never got the details, and I'm pretty sure it was too late for that anyways.

"Yes." Was all I responded with, my confidence was taking over my brain, using it's newly aquired power to control my vocal cords.

"A shootout of this size, we could get killed!" Another officer objected, making me sigh.

"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain." I quoted, "Nevermind that. But if you aren't willing to even risk your life for the dozens being ruined by that scumbag, then do you really deserve that badge?" The bold words making a few officers go into deep thought.

"I'll go regardless of who else attends." Ivan proclaims, standing next to me.

"Be ready in an hour." I instructed. No officer moved a muscle, staring across the table at me.

"You heard the wolf, get moving!" Evans shouted, and everyone jumped up from their seat. Ivan and I left the room first, as we were closest to the door. When the conferences were over, it was pretty crowded with over a dozen officers all trying to leave, and there is still dozens more still out around Zootopia.

"Someone would like to have a word with you." Clawhauser stopped me as I entered the lobby, ready to head upstairs to gather the proper equipment. He was holding a phone up, waiting for me to take it.

"This is Officer Howlard from the ZPD." I said, placing the phone against my ear.

"I'm aware, you've made quite a name recently. You can call me Anderson. I was informed very recently that you planned on taking over a dozen officers to a possible shootout, is this true?" The hoarse voice came about.

"Yes sir." I answered respectfully, still unaware of the callers authority.

"The state has authorized me to inform you that the S.W.A.T division will be taking the lead on this raid due to possible imposed danger on police officers." He ranted, making me roll my eyes. "The ZPD can, if willing, remain at a minimum distance of fifty yards from the location of said raid unless called in for backup." This information wasn't too surprising, it was very dangerous after all.

"Hold on a second, sir, with all do respect, that's a terrible idea. You see, myself and a fellow officer basically have super powers, which I think could be of use." I chuckled, Ivan's adrenaline to leave the ZPD dropping dead to the ground.

"You are indeed correct, Mr. Howlard, however I do not have the proper jurisdiction to let you on or near the premises." He sighed, genuinely agreeing with me.

"Then you better get down on your knees and beg for that jurisdiction." I warned sternly. "If you think a simple S.W.A.T execution will take down this operation, you are wrong." As I patiently waited for his response, Ivan tapped me on the shoulder.

"Alex, you know it's possible with the police and S.W.A.T involved in this that someone working with Dr. Harris could find out." Ouch. Ivan did have a point. "If that is true, then they could already be packing their bags." He whispered so no others around the lobby could hear.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Howlard, but it is the S.W.A.T's operation at this point, the ZPD will only be held as backup, and if we need you, we probably won't let you go inside the garage. If you or any other officer dares to set paw, hoof, or whatever the hell is on the bottom of those legs on the premises, you won't be wearing a badge the next day." Anderson threatened sternly, I'm sure Ivan was listening. I was silent for a moment, thinking about my options. Being a hero didn't have boundaries, after all.

"Then you're going to have to take my badge." I breathed into the phone, handing it to Clawhauser. A look of worry on his face as he hesitated to set the phone back in place on to the dialing machine, or whatever you call it.

"You listen closely, Alexander Howlard! If you think that you will " Clawhauser clicked the phone back in place, hanging up.

"Listen up everyone! The state has declared us as backup only to the S.W.A.T!" I declared, everyone Aww-ing in response. "Ivan, I'll get us equipment, you go find Nick." I ordered, making the jaguar nod, running up the stairs to the second floor. I followed, as the high end gear was up here as well. I walked into a large gritty carpeted room, where over a dozen other mammals were. Nick and Judy weren't present, however. They probably already collected what they needed. I grabbed two shotguns hung up on their racks. We always had one in the back of our police cars, but really never needed it. I slung both shotguns over my shoulder before grabbing a bullet proof vest.

Ivan didn't need one of these, did he? I laid the shotguns down gently on the floor and began strapping the vest on. "Certified Kevlar Officer." I breathed as I wriggled the vest on all the way. I ended up stepping out of the room with my back killing me. I had two shotguns slung over my back, and an M4A1 in each paw. I also had a helmet on, I probably looked like a S.W.A.T member, so I didn't see the big deal. Sure they were trained differently, but I can dodge a bullet before it even fires.

"You sure about this?" Ivan reapproached me, Nick and Judy behind him. Damn it, I don't want Judy to come.

"Yeah, Nick, you willing to do this?" I asked him carefully, wanting a truthful and thought out answer.

"If you guys are, then yes." He nodded his head. Judy remained silent, she wanted to go, I could tell.

"Judy, you and I both know what could happen." I said quietly, gently ushing Nick and Ivan aside.

"Yeah, but that's what being a hero is all about, right?" She gently jabbed a finger against my chest, making me smile. I swear I felt like someone was reading my mind somehow, by that I mean Judy, not you.

"Okay, just promise me one thing." I got down on one knee in front of her. Nick and Ivan just standing there waiting. "You won't let this change who you are." The same smile returned to my face.

"Okay." She nodded her head. I got back to my feet and handed Ivan a shotgun and an M4.

"Safety first." I handed Ivan a helmet, making him roll his eyes. The four of us made our way down the stairs to the lobby, where all our fellow officers were, included Chief Bogo.

"Where are you going? The S.W.A.T isn't even there yet!" Chief Bogo asked loudly from across the lobby as we neared the front door of the ZPD.

"We're just going to find the best place to wait as backup, that's all." I said smoothly opening the door. I turned my body just enough to see Chief Bogo shake his head slightly, looking down. He knew I was full of shit. The four of us got into a police SUV, it went along great with our death wish.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **This is the final build up chapter, while short, it will hopefully be equaled out by next chapter, which will most likely be triple the length of this one.**

 **As to when it will be released is the problem, unless I finish the whole entire thing in around five days it will be around two weeks until it's release. This is because I'm going on vacation soon, and most likely won't be writing will on it, but we will see.**

 **Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I did have a bit of a struggle writing about the S.W.A.T conversation, and also looked up a few things as to how they operated, wanting to make it at least slightly realistic to real life. The next chapter will depict POV's from multiple characters, changing in order to give the audience a grasp on how everyone is effected by their mission, and the problems they could face.**

 **ANYWAYS, all of the next chapter stuff I just talked about isn't 100% certain, as I'm still thinking about this.**

 **If you like the story, please leave a review telling me what you think, and don't forget to follow and favorite!**


	20. Chapter 20 - Heroes Among Us

**Author's Note**

 **This chapter switches POV s pretty often, this is so that each scene has similarly timed climaxes, or at least that was the point. Hope you enjoy the read!**

* * *

The police cruiser stormed down the street, obviously having no second thoughts about the destination. The wolf driving, Alex, had been waiting for this for quite the time now: eyebrows slanted, steering wheel gripped tight, and just a slight frown upon his face. Nick took the passenger seat, leaving Ivan and Judy to the back. The bunny looked down in regret. Usually she had determination, eager to do whatever necessary, but this time was different. This time they were going against the odds. Judy looked over to Ivan, who, just like her, laid his fire arms down near their feet, aimed up against the edge of the seat. Ivan was holding a picture that flashed in the sun light. It was a picture of small two cubs. Judy smiled as the sunlight reflected off of Ivan's gray fur. He had noticed this, and reacted without words, handing Judy the picture. She looked closely at the picture, they were so adorable, she thought.

"They are with their mother right now, away from danger." Ivan said quietly, not wanting to spark conversation with the other two in the vehicle. Judy didn't respond, only holding her smile, handing the picture back. The car swerved into a small desolate side road off the edge of Zootopia, passing between two old brick buildings. Behind laid a large wide open pavement, and giant garage doors on both the left and right sides. Straight ahead was the sea, dropping off from the end of the concrete. Not a noise was heard other than the engine of the police cruiser. The silence only aroused their suspicions even more. Alex slowly drifted the car into a parking space across from the garage he planned on entering.

"Okay guys, let's get out there and make a difference." Alex said in an obviously joking, cheerful voice, only getting a smile from Nick in return. Ivan grabbed his shotgun and M4, his side arm already on him. Alex did the same, leaving his helmet in the car. He could after all, dodge a bullet. Judy only had a pistol with her, since the ZPD didn't have shotguns in her size. Nick had a pistol and an M4 slung over his back, which was still rather large for him. "Nick, Judy, you two take the door on the left." Alex motioned to the metal door on the left side of the large garage door. The wolf then motioned for Ivan to follow him, the two of them taking to the door on the right.

Alex took the door knob into his paw with painstaking care, not wanting to make even the slightest noise. Both him and Judy looked across the large gap between the door doors, silently indicating that both doors were unsurprisingly locked. Lock picking was in Ivan s skill set however, and he rolled his eyes before taking the knob from Alex.

"You keep those on you?" Alex asked as Ivan messed with his tension wrench. Ivan ignored the questioned and a light click was heard. Nick and Judy leaned on the railing at the top of the two concrete stairs that lead to their door as Ivan marched his way over. After another few silent and unsatisfying moments, Ivan returned with Alex to their door.

"Never know when it'll come in handy." Ivan breathed as Alex grasped the doorknob once again. Judy did the same, the two of them looking over at one another, nodding their readiness. Both doors opened at once, all four of them entering in quick succession.

"Above us, on the catwalk." Alex whispered to Ivan as they took their place behind a large metal container with a large tarp thrown over it. The fox and the bunny found their place next to a fork lift, using it as cover, better safe than sorry. "A lot of them." He gritted his teeth, clutching his M4 against his chest. The lights sparked to life, the whole garage covered in their glory. The catwalks ran along the walls, with one bridge across the middle of the whole garage. Sheet metal was plastered against parts of the railings to provide cover. Armed mammals were scattered across the center, ready to provide suppressive fire.

"Wish I had a nose like that." Ivan smiled as bullets smacked the concrete on both sides of the metal container.

"I bet I'd make a good police dog." Alex chuckled in return, raising his voice to beat the bullets being fired from the catwalk, making Ivan raise an eyebrow.

"What?" Ivan questioned, basically yelling at this point.

"Nothing." Alex sighed, knowing full well that he and only he knew what he was talking about. Ivan shook the subject and quickly peeked out from behind the container, pulling back instantly to avoid getting shot. "What'd you see?"

"Not enough time." Ivan said, ready to peek back out. Alex grabbed his shoulder and held him in place.

"Let me try." Alex jumped up, his eyes topping the container for only a split second. "Every other section of the railing has sheet metal, each section has one mammal, so eight plus the four on the back catwalks against the wall." Ivan nodded, acknowledging this. "HEY!" Alex shouted across the garage to nick and Judy. "I'll distract them!"

Alex dove out from the container, flinging himself off the small concrete ledge to the garage door ramp. Alex slid to the left, a couple bullets whizzing past him. He noticed a pattern almost immediately. While half of them fired off their ammunition, the other half was reloading, only to wait for the the other group to finish their rounds. Alex spun around, swiftly jerking his arms and legs around, the closest bullet to hitting him grazed his fur. He knew at any moment if he lost focus a stray bullet could hit him in the head, killing him instantly.

Alex smiled to himself as one of Dr. Harris s soldiers helmet got impaled by a bullet, making him stumble to the side, falling over another. Judy fired from the fork lift s cover, while Nick pushed up to a couple small wooden boxes, giving him a closer shot. Ivan jumped off the metal container and flung himself onto the catwalk. Instantly dispatching the two mammals straight ahead with his M4. One soldier jumped up from the railing, only to collapse as his helmet got pelted by bullets from all four ends. Alex was now participating in the fun, as no mammals were left standing to take them down, the rest were hiding behind the sheet metal in pain. Ivan made his way to the center catwalk, where moaning could be heard. Ivan tossed one of the soldiers over the railing, a crunch heard as his back slammed into the concrete below. As Ivan cleared up the catwalk, Alex, Judy, and Nick made their way towards the back of the garage.

"There has to be more." Nick said mostly to himself as they found a large arrangement of boxes, cars, and trucks in the back.

"Look around." Alex instructed, the three of them splitting up to quicken the search for something of interest.

...

Sorry, back to reading my mind, it's going to be a pretty bumpy road in that aspect.

I traveled along the back of the right wall of the garage, working my way around a few boxes and cars, a few nice ones at that, is that a Lambo? Bet Dr. Harris had these soldiers take turns polishing it every two hours.

I found another door hidden behind a large stack of boxes, waiting patiently to be opened. I twisted the knob, it wasn't locked. I stepped through the door into the darkness, I couldn't smell anyone other than my friends who were still searching behind me.

"Go tell them you found a door, Alex." I said to myself quietly. My mind objected to this at the same time, telling me to be a lone wolf, and if I ran into trouble, be the hero. My feet began pulling me forward into the darkness of the doorway. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light, allowing me to take in my surroundings. It was another storage garage, except there was a small room extruding from the side, a window across the front of it. I swung my M4 over my back, knowing anyone I ran into with an gun wouldn't be able to shoot me anyways.

I made my way past an assortment of cars and boxes, similar to the back of the previous garage, but less cluttered. I stalked over to the side of the small side room and found the door. I slowly creaked the door open and stepped inside, there was no one in the room other than myself, a computer on a desk and a filing cabinet was all that was there. I ran my paw along the bottom of the monitor and found the buttons. The screen turned on, but it was a mess of icons and files, so I figured I'd save it for later. I turned off the monitor and left, closing the door behind me. I followed along the wall and came across another entrance, a generic metal door.

The word door was beginning to get repetitive for me. I swung it open and squinted my eyes as light poured in. I left the door cracked as I stepped outside. Barely ten feet in front of me was a ledge that dropped into water, the pavement running left and right seemingly infinitely, spanning across all the garage backs. A couple dozen yards down was some nice wooden docks for boats, but non were present. I smelled another mammal, a wolf. I gritted my teeth as a wolf exited the back of another garage, turning to face me. He was armored head to toe, including a visor equipped helmet.

I quickly drew my side arm, during a round off in less than half a second. My target threw his paw up, blocking his face. The bullet fell to the floor, smashed from the impact. The wolf s paw had a thin metal glove around it, excluding the fingers.

"Nice shot." He taunted, pulling out his own pistol. Does he think he can shoot me? The pistol clanked to the floor, the opposing wolf moving their paws to their helmet, which they tossed to the ground, falling over the ledge into the sea.

"You got scooped up by Dr. Prick as well, I assume." I snorted. I knew this wolf, from a long time ago, of course. His name was Felix, but you already know this because of my flashback.

"Yeah, he's a great guy as long as you don't betray him." Felix poked fun at either Ivan or I, or both. Now that I really studied Felix, he was a few inches taller than me, and definitely hit the gym more. "You're just a wolf in a police uniform, take that off and what are you?" His rhetorical question made me think for no more than a second.

"Something we have in common, actually." I paused, Felix snorted, clearly unamused.

"What May that be?" He cooed, puckering his lips.

"A victim." I felt confident with that answer, we both suffered. Felix began pacing towards me, I had a few seconds to relax, as he was a few dozen feet away. He swung a kick at me, but I was quick to slide back. I threw a hook, which he pushed down with a paw before elbowing me in the chest, forcing me back. I threw a leg up in an attempt to take out one of his, but he grabbed it instead. He pushed my leg back, taking me to the ground with it. I rolled off my back onto my knees as quick as possible, but Felix managed to firmly grasp the back of my uniform, pulled me off the ground and over his head. I slammed into the ground, my back and neck taking most the heat. The pain was getting to me as Felix stepped above me. I gritted my teeth, my last form of aggression as a boot smashed into my snout, taking my mind into lala land.

...

As Alex and Judy fanned out, I was left doing the same. I kept my pistol drawn as I made my way to the left side of the back. This garage was made for industry storage, so it's a mystery as to how Dr. Harris got a hold of it. After a bit of exploration I found a door. I pulled my arm up to the door knob, which rested a little below my head. I walk inside, leaving the door open for light, as the place was rather dark.

It wasn't impossible to see, but it was still obnoxiously dark, even for a fox. I gently pushed my paw out in front of me and touched something, another fork lift. The darkness was interrupted by bright yellowish light as a rain of bullets boomed off. I quickly fell to my knees behind the fork lift. Another catwalk above was responsible for carrying another prick. I peeked out from the other side of my cover and fired a few pistol rounds. The soldier ducked behind the sheet metal railings, the bullets clanking against it with little penetration. I retrieved my rifle from my back. He didn't stand a chance.

"I'm going to give you a chance to lie down your firearm." I warned loud enough for the soldier to hear, but after a few moments I knew he wasn't going to respond. I peeked through the driver s seat of the fork lift, giving me a clear shot at the catwalk. My gun blasted off a few rounds, and sent the mammal over the other end of the rails as a result, smashing through a wooden box, the sound booming across the whole garage. "Next rounds are on me." I taunted the either dead or unconscious soldier. The darkness evaporated as the lights turned on, revealing all the whole garage. There were cars scattered around, is that a Ferrari? Not to mention all the boxes. I kept my place behind the fork lift, afraid of being spotted, as I was alone at the moment.

I carefully moved my head up, keeping my ears down to conceal myself. A giant stepped across the center of the garage, a bear according to proportions, the ridiculous amount of clothing and armor made it hard to tell. Is that a minigun? Never seen one, but never wanted to, especially in this context.

"Don't be a coward! Thought that badge meant something?" The bear shouted, their voice sounded familiar. He was right, the badge does mean something, but standing out from the fork lift is the equivalent of suicide. The sound of metal clanking grabbed my attention, there was another soldier on the catwalk, using the height advantage to search for me. The mammal dove over the edge of the railing in an instant, rolling to the opposite side of the forklift. Well being dead can't be so bad, right?

"Poor fox." The deep, but feminine voice cooed from the other side. "Wait your turn, Kevin." So that's who the bear is. I remember him quite well. The fork lift shook slightly, making me grip my M4, watching both my left and right sides equally. The soldier flipped in front of me from above, katana in hand. What the hell. I fell to my side as the sword slices across the yellow paint of the forklift. The barrel of my M4 raised to meet her helmet, but was quickly swatted aside by her boot. I quickly rolled up to my legs, creating a small distance of safety. The ninja soldier or whatever slid a paw forward, granting her swing an extended reach. I stumbled back as the katana missed my snout by a couple inches.

"Heheheh" Kevin laughed as I scrambled backwards, I tried raising my M4 again but was disarmed by a spinning kick. Now defenseless, I sprinted away, sliding over the hood of the Ferrari. I turned my head to see her do a front flip over it, she's also faster than me. Funny thing is, I have no clue what she even is, she isn't much bigger than me, and her amass of clothing and the helmet make it impossible to tell, even the proportions couldn't tell me.

I ended up at the corner of the garage, trying to backtrack meant a sword through my chest, I turned around, gasping for air as a boot slammed into my gut, knocking me onto my back. The sheet thin blade soared downwards. My feet flew high over my head as I rolled backwards. The sword slammed into the smooth concrete floor as I stabilized myself into one knee, my side arm swiped mid roll. I fired round after round into the helmet and vest, stopping with only one round left. The ninja girl fell to the ground, her helmet clanking as it rammed the ground. The spinning of Kevin's minigun erupted, forcing me to dive behind the Ferrari. The car shook as the bullets took turns throwing punches at the opposite side.

"That car won't last forever!" Kevin shouted with glee. It was only a matter of time before I had to make a run to the next car, which was about a ten foot gap. A dent sprung out next to me. I pressed my body forward, using the little momentum to sprint from the car. My entirety was exposed as I crossed the firing range. A burning sensation covered my body at the halfway point, and my legs gave out. I rolled into my back, my tongue out, panting. The lights were drown out by Kevin's shadow as he approached me. The polar bear slowly lowered down to one knee by my side, pulling out a pistol of his own. "We have ye a chance." He repeated the phrase from the hospital. The barrel planted itself above my eyes on my forehead. "Goodbye, Nick." My paw grasped at the pistol, but it was of no effect, I wasn't strong enough. The blast made my ears ring, darkness pouring into my eyes.

...

I looked over the catwalk rails, the variety of boxes and vehicles taking their places across the back of the garage. I saw Alex exiting a door on to back right, alone. The bunny, Judy, was alone as well, searching the center of the storage area. The fox wasn't present either, which surprised me. Judy and him usually seemed rather close. I flung my weight over the railing, my legs pounding into the ground below, bending to compensate for the fall.

"Anything of interest?" I extended my voice so that she could hear, as she was a few dozen feet away.

"No, have you seen the other two morons?" She asked, closing the distance between us.

"They are searching elsewhere, I supposed, so it's just us two." I shrugged my shoulders. Would she feel safe with me, alone?

"Oh." Her voice intertwined with disappointment. A faint gunshot echoed around the room, then a few more, making me jump only slightly, I was used to it, but it disturbed the quiet atmosphere. Judy and I both readied our weapons, ready to source out the sound. Alex and Nick were both gone, after all. Our investigation was ended before it began, as the large metal garage door that rested between where we entered cranked its way upwards, sunlight pouring in through the slowly increasing gap. The sunlight was definitely brighter than the garage, making my eyes instinctively squint. A large figure stood in the center of the opening, towering even an elephant. Sunlight shined off the metal, it must be some sort of machine. Two giant legs extruded from the metal ball in the center, alongside two arms. A robot?

"Ivan!" That voice, it angered me. The spherical container in the center opened to reveal Dr. Harris, who rested behind a protective glass cover on the front. The panda seated over an assortment of buttons and switches. "Where've you been? I missed you." He smiled, leaning on his elbows over his control panel.

"Go to hell." I responded rather quietly, taking no interest in overly sarcastic small talk. Dr. Harris s enormous metallic arms extended forward, the giant fingers pushing out, signaling towards us

"This is exactly what I wanted, all of me, against all of you." He sighed, sounding relieved. The two doors which we entered in opened, a few armed mammals entering the building.

"I got the robot, you keep the soldiers off me." I instructed quietly and quickly. Judy nodded as I finished. "Has he proposed yet?" I said with the most serious tone I could muster.

"What?" Judy whispered as loud as a whisper could go.

"Go." I left her side, ready to meet Dr. Harris at least a fourth of the way. The metal legs clanked against the ground, sending small shivers up my metal spine. I used one paw to tear my shirt off, dropping it to the floor. I heard gunshots firing off as a giant metal arm swung towards me. I dove over the low blow and landed next to Dr. Harris s legs, the robot ones of course. I slammed my fist into the metal with little effect. Another hook swung my way, this time I back flipped away, leaving me out of the robots reach.

"You may be able to dodge my swings, but my suit can surely out endure you. This thing doesn't tire out." Dr. Harris echoed from inside the suit, the voice intercom to the outside wasn't exactly the greatest. A few gunshots slammed into my chest, barely getting a reaction. "Aim for the head, IDIOTS!" The panda screeched as his robot stepped towards me. As I rolled away from another metallic fist, I saw Judy shoot a soldier in the back. That was amusing. She sprinted around a box where a soldier was peeking around the other side in search for her. The last soldier. Dr. Harris swung another unmeaningful punch, which I easily slid away from. The solder spun around and shot as Judy did, both of them falling in the process.

"JUDY!" I yelled, stretching my arm out as to catch her, even though she was across the garage. In a split second my body was flung through the air, my chest slamming off the railing of the catwalk, as Dr. Harris laughed in success. I flipped multiple times before smashing into a yellow Lamborghini. I moaned in pain, barely able to lift my head enough to see the giant cyborg stomping over to where Judy lied.

...

"You got lucky last time!" It was freshman year for the then young wolf, Alex. The teacher had left the room to retrieve something from the printer, and had put her trust in the students to be quiet and remain seated. Felix took this as his opportunity to belittle, or even hurt him. Felix had his paws over Alex's desk, standing on the opposite side, while Alex was seated. "You got lucky that your father was there!" Felix gritted his teeth. Alex knew what the wolf wanted, he didn't want to fight, but wanted to be seen as powerful or popular whichever one was a mystery to Alex, however. Alexander jumped up from his chair, knocking it over behind him. This startled Felix, but he retained his aggressive posture.

"At least I still have a father." Alex growled loud enough for the whole class to hear it. The whole world seemed to stop, the whole class in shock. Felix swung his fist towards Alex's snout. Alex's conscious remembered this moment quite well, but seeing it for another time opened his eyes a it more. As Alex swerved his head to the side, Felix s eyes began tearing up, swinging his fist his only mean of expressing his sorrow. Alex used this time to slam Felix in the jaw, knocking him to the floor, pushing back a few desks in the process.

The vision collapsed, and sixteen year old Alex found himself on the living room couch. Alex's father, Eugene paced into the room. Swiping the remote from the coffee table. The television screen faded to black, obviously to Alex's discomfort.

"I was watching that." He rolled his eyes, but the look on his father s face told him to let it go.

"I wanted to talk about something." Eugene cleared his throat. "I'm going to be working two jobs." He sighed.

"Okay?" Alex raised an eyebrow, his father has taken multiple jobs before, so he found it strange that he would make a big deal of it.

"This time it's different, I probably won't get to see you or Kyler much." Eugene looked down at the carpet.

"I'm sure we will live." Alex said, the TV screen flaring back to life as he set the remote down.

"Yeah." His father hesitated, only to leave the room with haste, scratching the back of his head. The room faded into the void.

Alex's present day self, in police uniform, was standing behind his past self, who was in a black suit. Eugene s coffin rested in the grave before them, their family gathered around to mourn. Alex's present day self saw a fox passing by.

"Sorry for your loss." The fox said gently to Alex's past self, who took no interest in this fox. Officer Howlard fell to his knees, his eyes widened in a mixture of so many emotions.

...

Judy, you can't leave her. Never. I slowly opened my eyes, one after the other. My head was pounding with excruciating pain, and I felt like dying was a worthy exchange. I lifted my head just enough to tell myself I wasn't dead. My elbows supported my arched back as I sat up. Kevin was a few paces away, his back facing me as he did whatever he did on the other side of that enormous body. My pistol was still in it s holster. I quietly stabilized myself on my legs, my brain yelling at me to sit back down. I slowly looked back, there was a bullet out of its casing, lying on the floor, stuck partially in the concrete floor.

My legs began to move towards Kevin, and in a short moment I was sprinting full speed, I knew what could happen as I did this. My pistol was in my paw, I then remembered the problem, one bullet was left in the gun. Kevin whirled around just as I reached him, both of us armed with itty bitty pistols. I pounced off the floor, planting both legs on Kevin's stomach. I used my other free paw to grasp his helmet visit, flinging it up as I extended my legs out. As I flew backwards, the barrel of my pistol was aimed between my legs, the last round blasting out. The back of my head slammed to the ground, which hurt like a bitch. I heard the crash of the polar bear to the ground, and I did nothing but lie there. I slowly reached my paw up to my forehead, but yanked it back, shivering at the feeling.

"Hey Kevin, next round is on me." I said between deep breaths, no way he was alive, unless he is a super soldier like me. Eye for an eye right? Luckily he didn't shoot me in the eye, not sure that would heal. "Judy." I tried to yell, but my body wouldn't allow it.

My eyes opened instantly, my body reawakening. Being curb stomped definitely hurt. I sat up and climbed to my legs. Felix turned his body to face me, a devious smile plastered on his face.

"I'm sorry." I stretched my paws out. "I'm sorry about your father, and everything else." Hopefully that'd loosen him a little bit.

"You're saying that because you lost yours!" He gritted his teeth, taking a step closer to me.

"You're right, actually." I agreed with him, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion. "Because it showed me what it was like to lose someone so close." I spoke boldly, showing empathy for the wolf trying to kill me.

Felix let out a battle cry before charging me. I didn't want to do this, but I had no choice. Felix sprung into the air, his body sideways as a leg flew my way. I wrapped one paw around the leg, his other barely catching him. I drew my pistol and shot two rounds into his leg. You can't dodge something if you can't move. His scream was enough to tell me he wasn't going to be fighting anytime soon, it sounded like a pups. I pulled on his leg rather than pushing, allowing me to drop him on his back rather than his face. The big, fully grown wolf whimpered and clutched his leg against his chest, his tail between his legs.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as I knelt next to Felix s back side. His head turned towards the sky in order to face me, but my fist was swiftly delivered to his snout, knocking him unconscious. I used both paws to lift his body off the cold ground, the garage shadows didn't allow sunlight at this time of day. I placed his whole body over my shoulders, groaning as my legs straightened upwards, by no means was he a light weight. "I'm sure he was a good man." I directed to the drooling wolf on my back. For those of you who haven't figured it out already, I genuinely felt bad for this guy, and I'd love for you to stick around, but I'm sure something more interesting is going on elsewhere.

...

"I'll be sure to send them your regards, bunny." The giant hunk of metal dropped down. I couldn't move, I was shot in the leg. Maybe crawling would work, but I didn't have more than a second. I slammed my eyes shut just before the clanking of metal entered my ears. Fabric brushed against my ear, making me jump, my eyes springing open. Ivan towered over top of me, his back supporting his arms as they cradled the giant cylinder of metal. His legs were shaking, and his face was covered with pain. He couldn't hold him much longer.

"Judy " He gasped, his eyes sealed shut. "I can't hold him." His gritted teeth was just another signal that any second he could collapse. I placed a paw on his baggy pants, pulling myself upwards. My next paw landed grasped his arm s fur, the pain of holding Dr. Harris s arm drowning out anything else. My legs dangled off the floor as I moved both paws over his chest, hoping my body weight would be enough to move the crank. I wrapped one leg around his, adding some of the little strength I had. My injured leg began to slowly ache its way around Ivan's leg as well, the same one. I grunted as the crank slowly croaked around. Ivan's painful groans turned to growls, as I fell back to the floor he began fuming out a yell, definitely not a roar, but it was still pretty crazy. The metal hunk above Ivan slowly rose, the jaguar clearly satisfied with this, a smile growing across his face.

"Ivan!" I tried to warn him as the other giant mechanical arm slammed into his back, launching his straight into a military hummer, the side smashing inwards as he connected with it.

"Sorry about your friend, but he was once mine, you know." The panda s robot shrugged its shoulders, stepping back from standing almost right over me.

"You don't deserve him." I panted, sitting up with my elbows as support. The metallic fist swung downwards, landing right next to me as I rolled to the side. Instead of sweeping the arm sideways to hit me, he lifted it back up slightly.

"I don't need him, my suit's strength surpasses his." He chuckled, lifting his arm up for another strike. A hummer slammed into the side of the robot, both scraping across the floor, flinging sparks out around them. Ivan bolted to my side, dropping to one knee.

"Are you okay?" He placed a paw around my back, pulling me up gently.

"I'll live." I sighed. Ivan smiled in return. He seemed so much different than at the cafe, let alone his apartment.

"I'm sure you will, Nicholas wouldn't be too happy if you didn't." He warned me, his words true, just said in a humorous manner. A metal arm appeared over the jaguar almost instantly, making my smile drop. Ivan slammed one arm against the bottom of the arm as it crashed down. I could see his fingers denting the armor. He lifted up his knelt leg and slowly stood up. His other paw slammed into the robotic arm as he turned the metal, one paw on one side, the other of the opposite.

"You seem quite fond of that strength of yours." Dr. Harris accused from his robotic suit.

"That's funny, I could say the same about you." Ivan said with little problem. His paws dug deeper into the arm as he bared his teeth. My ears flattened as Ivan stepped forward, two giant metal legs lifting from the ground. Dr. Harris yelled out as the sixteen foot monster flew over Ivan's head, his paws releasing from the dents in the arm. The metal suit smashed into the giant garage door that he first entered through, taking both it and itself to the ground. Trucks sat outside, surrounded by armed mammals, all labeled S.W.A.T. Every single one of the with their jaws agape.

...

I swung the metal door open that led to where we began, multiple cars and boxes left in perfect condition: others smashed into oblivion. I walked past Judy and Ivan without a word, instead making my way to the giant pile of scrap just outside. The S.W.A.T arrived just in time, obviously.

"Where is Anderson?" I asked a goat who had dropped his gun to the floor in awe.

"Over there." He shook his head quickly before pointing to a group of mammals.

"The tiger?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No the otter." He sighed, just beginning to get out of his trance. Anderson was an otter. Hmm.

"Sir, I'd like to surrender myself for disciplinary action." I looked down at him, still carrying Felix over my back. Watch him follow through, it's always better when the other mammal follows through.

"That won't be necessary." He sighed, looking up at me. I smiled, not because I won't be punished, but because of that damn reference. I turned around and looked at Ivan and Judy, who were joined by Nick. Is that a bullet wound? Holy shit. Ivan was no longer standing, but lied on the ground. Judy was on her hip, using one arm to sit up, and Nick was leaned against a box, looking exhausted. I missed when things were normal, when I wasn't scared that I could lose one of them in a second, partially including Ivan. I'll make sure they know that no matter what happens, I'll always stay by their side. Except for just now, because I left. "You love em, don t you?" I smiled, keeping my view on the garage.

"They're a pain in the ass." I answered. Probably not the answer he was expecting.

"I see that." Anderson joked.

"Who would've thought I'd love a pain in the ass." I laughed, turning to face the otter.

"I hope that's a joke, officer." He laughed back. It definitely was, I wasn't coming out or anything. The both of us remained mostly silent as Dr. Harris was torn from his robotic suit by a group of mammals.

"Bye, have an A-1 day." I whispered as the panda was hauled into the back of a S.W.A.T vehicle.

"Not sure why I haven't asked yet, but who the hell is that?" Anderson pointed to the wolf on my back. I kind of forgot he was there for a moment, surprisingly.

"He went to my elementary school." I smiled, "he also tried to kill me." I walked over to the officers taking away Dr. Harris. "Got another one for yah." I lied him down against the back of the van.

"Is he okay?" One guy asked.

"He's fine, two gun shots to the leg is nothing for him." I swatted my paw in his direction. A few S.W.A.T mammals were interacting with the trio in the garage, so I figured I'd make my way over there.

"There is some girl in there, not sure if she is alive, but you should check." I heard Nick as I walked into the building. The soldiers nodded and jogged towards the direction of Nick's finger. Can we just call them soldiers? It's a lot easier than using S.W.A.T members or whatever.

"Fellahs." I greeted the three of them. I was the only one standing, making them look up to me. "I say we celebrate tomorrow, and get some rest today." I placed my paws on my hips. "Besides, I haven't slept since the hospital." I joined them on the floor, resting my back against the same box as Nick.

"I won't object to that." Nick sat up and placed his elbows on his knees.

"OH MY GOD!" Judy shouted, using Ivan's legs as support to hold herself higher. Funny thing, there isn't much talk about how religion plays into Zootopia.

"Yeah." Nick sighed heavily, leaning back against the box.

"Bu...but how?" Judy stammered. A bullet to the skull must hurt like a bitch. That is of course if you live to feel the pain.

"Who knows." Nick pushed away from the box, using the extra room to lay back, using both arms as pillows.

"We need to take you to the hospital." She panicked, trying to stand up, only to fall back down.

"Id prefer the bar." Nick shrugged.

"This round is on me." I declared. "Just joking, you three all are going to the hospital." I lifted Judy up and cradled her in my arms. "As much as we came to hate them this past week." The four of us headed back towards all the SOLDIERS. There, that's perfect.

"Alexander Howlard." Anderson approached us. "A few mammals would like to have a word with you and your friends. That is, of course, after needed medical attention and rest." He explained, his eyes widening as he looked over at Nick.

"Yeah, lots of it." We all began to walk away.

"I did have the jurisdiction to let you on the premises." I stopped in place, turning my head just slightly, my back still facing him. "I just wanted to see if you would follow your heart." I gave a half smile to myself. "Go." He ordered.

"Yes sir." The four of us paced down the alley. I could drive us to the hospital, hell, I'm sure Nick could.

"Looks like we struck gold today, right Nick?" I asked with a sly smile. Nick s slight smile dropped, and he squinted up at me.

"Huh?" He scratched his head.

"Nothing." I sighed and looked forward as we met up with the ZPD s backup on the streets. It was a special occasion that I referenced the story itself.

"Does this mean I'm off the hook for my previous crimes?" Ivan asked, barely concerned. He knew not only us, but the ZPD would say yes to that.

"Yeah, but on one condition." I paused for a moment, building up a of suspense. "You have to hang out with me from time to time." I said in a haunting, threatening like voice.

"Can I hold Judy?" My mouth curved into a sly smile as I slowly turned to address Nick.

"Sure you're up for the task?" I said as I passed Judy carefully into Nick s arms. She rolled her eyes as I did so.

"I took on a ninja and got shot in the head, I think I'll do fine." He played along. Wait a ninja? That's awesome. Meanwhile I just had a fist fight.

"So Alex, what happened to you?" Judy asked, still cradled in Nick's arms.

"I realized a few things." I considered my words carefully. "Being a hero isn't doing what is right for you, it's doing what is right for everyone." As cheesy as that was, hurting mammals for the benefit of others, such as my mother. was by no means being a hero.

Putting yourself on the line for the benefit of others is what being a hero is, and we are protected by them everyday...

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **I wanted to thank you all for reading up to this point, and no it's not over. The end of this arc, however, has arrived.**

 **...**

 **Notes on this chapter**

 **1\. this chapter is by far the longest of them all.**

 **2\. there are quotes pulled straight from a few other sources, such as the MCU or Deadpool.**

 **3\. Nick fighting the katana girl was probably my favorite part to write.**

 **4\. Ivan got his first POV.**

 **5\. I put katana girl in because Nick cowering away from Kevin seems too bland, and I made her a girl because there isn't enough of them.**

 **6\. Alex's knockout flashback was planned a while ago to be him dreaming about being a superhero, with his green suit and all, and a terrible tragedy called for him, waking him up.**

 **7\. Alex's references things he shouldn't know about, and knows it.**

 **8\. If you catch any weird typing errors, such as apostrophes being missing, it's because I typed most of this on my phone, and for some strange reason some of them were missing.**

 **...**

 **ANYWAYS. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, please leave a lengthy review detailing your thoughts.**

 **Let's play a little game. What is your favorite line from any of the chapters?**


	21. Chapter 21 - Forgetful

"Hey" I said as the door swung open. Kyler pulled back a bit, looking me up and down. He didn't say anything at first, so I just stood there with a smile. "What?" I placed both paws on my sides. "Been watching the news?" I stepped inside the door frame.

"Yeah." He said, clearly zoned out. It felt a bit awkward, just a little. Kyler coughed into a fist, unaware of what to say.

"If you want to hug me, I don't mind." I chuckled. A paw smacked gently against my chest.

"I'm not hugging you unless you are dying." He turned towards the living room.

"Technically we're all dying, only slowly." I followed up, walking into the living room with him.

"Yeah, a few a little faster than others." Kyler pointed at the TV. A video of the hospital was shown. They wouldn't let a camera into Nick's room, but they were talking about his... condition.

"They know that much, huh?" I asked. The police force probably confiscated a lot of things from that garage, including everything they need to to know about the super soldier project, which includes the ticking time bomb that is Nick. His lifespan is questionable, but probably, strongly reduced by that damn serum. Hopefully Zootopia funds a science division around that, that would be the day. We have all the technology, after all.

"Yup, everything from A to Z." He scratched his cheek. "Those comics we used to read were hiding something." He elbowed my arm.

"You know, according to this, I am the most advanced being on the planet, maybe not like in the comics, but still something." I tossed a USB drive into the air and caught it.

"Really now?" Kyler grinned. "Wonder how many jackasses will show up at your door." He pondered. Jackasses? What?

"What do you mean?" I looked over at the front door in confusion.

"Most advanced being." He repeated after me. "I wouldn't be surprised if every government in the world wants you to work for them." He paused, thinking. "As like an agent, or maybe a spy." He shrugged and jumped the counter between the kitchen and the living room. That made a lot of sense, actually.

"Yeah." I looked down, "I'll see you tonight probably, I'm going to visit someone." I walked towards the front door, slipping on my shoes.

"Who?" Kyler shouted as he slammed the fridge from the kitchen.

"Not sure yet." I shrugged to myself as I pulled the door closed behind me.

"Wish he'd stay longer." I heard Kyler say to himself from inside the kitchen. Enhanced hearing is a bit intrusive. I climbed into my police cruiser and turned the keys. I'll probably visit Nick and Judy, maybe Felix? Elliot? Ivan? Jesus I had a lot of people on the schedule. If you're wondering why I'd want to speak with Felix or Elliot, it's because the only other talking they will be doing is under a bright light with two luniticts across the table with notepads. I know I'm by no means their friend, but I think some normal conversation could make them losen up.

I drove around with little to nothing on my mind, it was to say the least, peaceful. I didn't have to worry where my friend were, I didn't spend every second alone thinking about catching Dr. Harris, and above all, I didn't have to worry about wether I could dodge the next bullet. The street ahead began to tear apart, the mammals fading. My fur tensed up, and I slammed on the breaks, but nothing happened. The comfort of my car seat now cold and solid. Four walls shot up on either side of me, one with a glass window.

"You sure you're okay?" The gritty voice of Anderson came from across the table my paws rested on. I wasn't in my car, not an interrogation room. I looked over the glass. It was a hospital. While I couldn't see the lower half of the room, the cabinents and ceiling gave it away.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" I smiled to him, unaware of what he was talking about. He flinched slightly, and squinted.

"If there is anything we can help you with just give us a call, you don't need to lift a finger." He soothed. Why was he being so nice? Another thought came to my mind.

"Hey Anderson, what's going to happen with the remains of the super soldier project?" I looked up at the ceiling during my little brain storm.

"Hell, who knows." He shrugged, "Could be put to great use in the right hands." I dropped my gaze at the ceiling and looked back down to him.

"No." I murmured. "The super soldier project is evil." My eyes half closed.

"Yet here you are." Anderson smiled, damn it.

"Yeah, luckily I haven't dropped dead yet." I snorted and slouched down in my chair.

"Are you even upset?" He growled lightly.

"What the hell is your problem?" I accused, making Anderson stand up and walk over the door.

"We'll be in touch." He slammed the door behind him. The otter's footsteps stopped just outside.

"What'd he say?" I heard Judy say, making my spirits rise.

"Nothing." He sighed and continued through another door. A beeping noise swam through my ear, making me scratch it, slightly frustrated. I shook my head a bit, but no result. I slowly stood up from my chair and walked over to the glass window on the same wall as the door. Judy stood alone next to a hospital bed, where a fox lied: bandages around his head.

"A few a little faster than others." I softly repeated to myself. Nick didn't strike gold.

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Sorry about the re-upload of this chapter, I added a bit. I have decided on a few things; I will probably create a separate story for a squeal to this story, maybe with a new cover art, shiny. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this cliffhanger. If you are eager to read more, just check my profile sometime hopefully next week or so and I'll try to get it up then. It's been a blast writing this and I hope that you will stick around for the squeal.**

 **Quick question, the squeal may be a little bit further down the road on the timeline. Would you guys mind a heavier sci-fi element in the squeal?**

 **(I may also try to do another story if I have the time, which let's face, I probably don't, but I can only hope.)**

 **See you next time.**


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